82 OP THE ROOT, 



chiefly of the beautiful genus Epidcndrum^ are pecu- 

 liarly thick and fleshy, not only for the purpose of 

 imbibing the more nourishment, but also to bind 

 them so strongly to the branches of trees, as to defy 

 the force of winds upon their large and rigid leaves. 



^. RadLv repens, f. 6. A Creeping Hoot, as in Mint, 

 Mentha. A kind of subterraneous stem, creeping 

 and branching oflf horizontally, and throwing out 

 fibres as it goes. This kind of root is extremely 

 tenacious of life, for any portion of it will grow. 

 Hence weeds furnished with.it are among the most 

 troublesome, as the different sorts of Couch-grass, 

 Triticum rcpeyis, Engl. Bot. t. 909, Holcus mollis^ 

 t. 1 170, &c. ; while, on the other hand, many sea- 

 side grasses, having such a root, prove of the most 

 important service in binding down loose blowing 

 sand, and so resistins: the encroachments of the 

 ocean. These are {)rinci pally Caixx arenariay 

 Engl. Bot. ^.928, Anoido arcnaria^ t. ^20, and 

 Elijmus arenurhts^ t. 16752. 



3. RodlvfitsifonniSyf. 7. A Spindle-shaped or Taper- 

 ing Root. Of this the Carrot, Parsnep and Radish 

 are famihar examples. Such a root is formed, on 

 the principle of a wedge, for penetrating perpendi- 

 cularly into the ground. It is common in biennial 

 plants, but not peculiar to them. The caudtx, 

 \\4iich is the spindle-shaped part, abounds with the 



