568 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XV III. 



It is evident that a sharp demarcation between trees and shrubs 

 cannot be made, as all kinds of intermediate forms exist. Similarly, 

 between shrubs, undershrubs, and herbs there occur many inter- 

 mediate forms, and the above numbers will, therefore, always be 

 slightly modified according to the observer's opinion. 



In our perennial herbs, which live for several or many years and 

 usually flower every year, the vegetative period is generally inter- 

 rupted by the dry season, the aerial parts of the plant as a rule 

 dying down. A storage of reserves enables the plant to recommence 

 its growth upon the return of the rainy season and very often 

 already towards the end of the dry season. This storage is usually 

 made below ground where it is well protected, but may also be in the 

 leaves. The part in which storage is contained is more or less 

 swollen, and if it includes a bud, it is nearly always made to subserve 

 the process of vegetative reproduction. In many of our perennials the 

 original plant does not re-appear in the second season, but in its 

 place arise a number of new plants formed from it by vegetative 

 methods. 



We have first the case of plants which store reserves in underground 

 creeping stems or rhizomes, which are usually thickened and have 

 their leaves reduced to scales. The flora of the Presidency furnishes 

 many examples belonging to the Begoniacece, Convolvidacece, Zingi- 

 heracece, Musacece, Amaryllidaceoe. Rhizomes often branch extensive- 

 ly, and as the older parts decay the branches are set free, and thus 

 vegetative multiplication is brought about, e.g., in Musa, Dioscorece, 

 ( "yperacece. In other cases the rhizome instead of creeping horizon- 

 tally stands more or less erect and resembles a tuber ; in such cases it 

 is usually termed a root-stock as, e.g., in Phrynum (Marantece) 

 Hypoxia and Curcnligo (Amaryllidaceoe), and in Taccacece. Crinvm 

 and Pancratium have got a bulbous root-stock and some Liliacece 

 a tuberous one. Creeping root-stocks are very common in our species 

 of Asparagus, in the Pontederiacece, Aroidacece, and Naiadaceai. 



Another type of shoot, the conn, is seen in Iphigenia, where the 

 lower part of the stem is swollen out into a more or less spherical 

 shape to contain reserve materials. Tubers, which may be of stem 

 or root nature, are found in some of the Liliacece, Commelinacece, 

 Aroidacece, Convolvidacea;, and especially in Dioscoriacecc, where the 

 tubers show different morphological nature in different species. Our 



