Cli.VIL] 



Fig. 20 



4) 



148. Culm, or straw, (Fig. 20,) is the kind ot stem 

 which you see in grasses and rushes. The bain 

 boo, sugarcane, and various species of reeds, havt 

 stems of the culm kind; some of them, particu- 

 larly the bamboo, are known to attain to the 

 height of forty feet. We can imagine something 

 >f the appearance which extensive plains of these 

 lofty tropical reeds must present, gracefully 

 bending to the slightest breeze, like our meadow 



grasses. 



Fig. 21. 



^ssssS^s. 



- = =-..:? -7..^ tr- ^ =^ - 



l^^"n#t^ 

 "^//^fK^:^--< 



^S^ 



149. Scape. This is a stalk 

 springing from the root, which 

 bears the flower and fruit, but not 

 the leaves ; as the Dandelion, the 

 Cowslip, and the Lily of the Val- 

 ley, (a 'a Fig. 21). Plants with 

 scapes are sometimes called stem- 

 less plants. 



150. Peduncle, or flower stalk. 

 This is a subdivision of the princi- 

 pal stem ; it bears the flower and 



fruit, but not (he leaves. When the peduncle is divided, each 

 sub-division is called a pedicel. 



151. When there is no peduncle or flower stalk, the flowers 

 are said to be sessile, wjich means sitting down upon the main 

 stem. 



152. Petiole. Tne petiole or leaf-stalk, is a Kind of stem, or 

 fulcrum, supporting the leaf; it is usually green, and appears to 

 be a part of the leaf itself. In most cases, the leaves and 

 flowers are supported by distinct foot stalks, but sometimes one 

 foot-stalk supports both the leaf and flower. 



148. Describe the culm. 



149. What is a scape 1 



150. What is a peduncle, and what is a pedicel 1 



151. When are flowers said to be sessile 1 



152. What is the petiole! 



4* 



