Contents

Abstract. We commence a general algebro-geometric study of the moduli stack of commutative, 1-parameter formal groups. We emphasize the pro-algebraic structure of this stack: it is the inverse limit, over varying n, of moduli stacks of n-buds, and these latter stacks are algebraic. Our main results pertain to various aspects of the height stratification relative to fixed prime p on the stacks of buds and formal groups