1S91 J Life History of Hydrastis Canadensis. 79 



seal." The rootstock is not "horizontal, as represented in the 

 drawings of all who have described the plant previously, and if 

 ever found so it is an accident of growth, as I shall proceed to 

 show. Development of rhizome begins with the second year, 

 by the gradual thickening of the head of the primary fibrous 

 root, or radicle. It is difficult to determine at this stage just 

 where the rhizome ends and the root begins. The hibernacula 

 are produced, after the second year, from short offshoots which 

 spring from the axils of previous bud-scales, the offshoots 

 being of such length only as to permit the bud to assume the 

 erect position. The contortion or contraction produced in 

 the rhizome by the decay of some of the offshoots each year is 

 almost always in such manner as to cause the hibernacula toas- 

 sume a more erect position, one in fact almost continuous with 

 the older part of the rootstock. Thus a perpendicular axis is 

 generally maintained. From this habit of growth an old rhi- 

 zome is a knotty subdivided mass and presents no regularity 

 of outline. The young rhizome, and the offshoots of the 

 older ones, are marked by slight annular ridges, the sites of 

 former bud-scales. It seems to be a law of development with 

 this plant, that two or more years are required for the perfect- 

 ing of a terminal bud ™d its supporting caudex. An old 

 rootstock is abundantly supplied with fibrous roots. These, 

 from their manner of growth and other characteristics, are 

 found to be of two kinds, unequally apportioned. Those 

 most numerous incline downward in their growth and have a 

 length varying from 1 to 20 cm. the others are few in num- 

 ber, and larger, each measuring 20 to 50 cm. or more in 

 length, with a diameter of 1 to 1.5 mm. and growing in a hori- 

 zontal direction at a depth of 2.5 to 5 cm. 



These large fibers under certain conditions sparingly produce 

 adventitious buds, from each of which one or more small radi- 

 cal leaves arise on footstalks. These leaves are identical with 

 the foliage of the second stage of growth from the seed. 

 Three of these buds have been observed on a single large fiber 

 at intervals of 7.5 cm. or more. They seemed to be formed 

 only on those fibers that have been severed from the rootstock 

 without greatly disturbing their distal extremities. Adven- 

 titious buds may occur upon the large fibers while yet attached 

 to the rhizome,' but if such is the case I have never yet ob- 

 served it, the budding fiber always being found detached from 

 the plant, with the proximal extremity blackened for a short 





