OF THE GENUS ULEX. 27 



soil, and is sensitive to cold. This can be readily seen by the 

 number of plants killed during our cold winters. After the severe 

 winter of 1894 — 5 so large a number of dead bushes could be 

 seen in all the more exposed situations that it was a matter of 

 considerable astonishment to those who imagined that such stiff, 

 tough plants must be very hardy. 



The general structure of the vegetative organs presents many 

 features of interest ; the leaves are reduced practically to spines, 

 and their function of assimilation is to a large extent replaced by 

 that of the stem. The internal structure of the spiny leaf remains 

 similar, however, to that of ordinary foliage leaves, except that it 

 has a tendency to develop palisade tissue all round. The leaf is 

 leathery, the epidermis is very thick, and the stomata are slightly 

 sunk in it. In the axils of nearly all the leaves short branches 

 occur, of varying length, each terminated by a strong spine. 

 These may be termed the prwiary spiny branches ; they grow for 

 one year only, and produce in most cases a small number of leaves 

 which may have secondary spiny branches in their axils. In 

 addition to these branches, others are produced, with a similar 

 structure, but longer and having a different origin. They are 

 always developed between the foliage leaf and the primary spiny 

 branch. They generally terminate in spines, but in some cases 

 continue to grow at the apex by means of an apical bud. They 

 are called accessory branches. When these branches are fully 

 formed, the primary spiny branch and the leaf at its base turn 

 brown and die, as can be easily observed by anyone who cares to 

 take the trouble to examine a furze bush of more than two years' 

 growth. 



If we examine a branch of Furze two years old, we shall see 

 that it is covered with accessory branches from the base to the 

 apex, but they are longer and more numerous near the apex, where 

 they form a tufted group radiating in all directions, than lower 

 down. In a favourable specimen all the upper leaves bear such 

 accessory branches in their axils. Nearly all the primary spines 

 and leaves at the bases of the accessory branches on such a stem 

 will be found to be withered, with the exception of those which 

 are fairly well exposed to light. Very few of the accessory 

 branches continue to grow for more than one year. They nearly 



