40 Plants and their Ways in South Africa 



character of a tree. 



Fig. 43. — Terminal bud of a Fig, 



Fig. 44,— Galls on Clifforiia 



In the Blue Gum and Norfolk Pine ^ the 

 terminal bud continues 

 its growth throughout 

 the life of the tree. This 

 gives to the tree a tall, 

 erect habit. In Au- 

 stralia, where the Blue 

 Gums are not cut for 

 firewood, they become 

 the tallest trees in the 

 world. 



If the terminal bud 

 continues for a few sea- 

 sons and then dies, the 

 tree has a broader, 

 bushier habit. A branch 

 of the Weeping Willow 

 {Salix capensiSj Thunb.) 

 grows for a season and 

 at the close the terminal 

 bud dies. The lateral bud 

 takes the nourishment and 

 continues the growth. This 

 mode of growth gives a droop- 

 ing habit, the reverse of the 

 Norfolk Pine. A rose also 

 branches in this way, causing 

 the bush to spread. 



Galls. — The tips of Clif- 

 fortia, Aspalathus, and other 

 shrubs often have peculiar 

 terminal buds. We know 

 they will not produce flowers. 

 Ciiffortta has two kinds of 

 flowers, but they are not 

 borne at the tips of branches. 

 These swollen buds are Galls. 



^Araiicaria (Monkey Puzzle), see p. 34. 



