THE NETTLE AND FIG FAMILY 117 



They are full of a resinous, milky juice, as are also all the other 

 parts of the plant. All these things work together to make the 

 tree very hardy (see Mango tree, page 25). 



The leaf-buds are protected under a sheathing cover formed 

 by the stipules of the last leaf developed. When the leaves in 

 the bud expand, the stipules drop to the ground and leave an 

 annular scar on the branchlets. In cold countries, winter buds 

 are always shut up in a case of such scales, generally glued 

 together by a sticky substance to shelter them from the cold 

 weather. Although resting buds sometimes have no such cover- 

 ings in warm countries, we see them in this plant. They are 

 very useful also for the Banyan tree, for they shelter the buds 

 from withering and drying up during the dry season. 



We frequently notice a red hue on the young leaves which 

 indicates a very active process of breathing (see Mango, page 26). 



The Banyan tree is very hardy and affords good shade. It 

 is, therefore, often planted along roadsides. Wlien the leaves 

 have done their work, they fall beneath the tree. At the spot 

 where they were joined to the stem, a distinct mark can be seen. 

 This is a transverse layer of cells which become corky after the 

 leaf has performed its functions, and cut the leaf off from the 

 plant by intercepting the flow of food and water. The leaves 

 then change their colour from green to yellow and dry up. 

 And as they have now lost their hold of the twig, the wind or a 

 cold night will suffice to bring them down to the ground in 

 showers. The cork-layer which grow between the stem and the 

 leaf now affords a protecting covering for the bare place on the 

 stem that is left when the leaf falls off'. This bare place is called 

 the leaf-scar. (Compare Teak tree, page 111.) 



3. It is often remarked by some people that Banyan trees 

 have no Flowers. This mistake arises from the flowers being 

 concealed within a fleshy receptacle, which is popularly known 

 from the beginning as the fruit. They are called figs and are 

 placed in pairs at the base of the leaf-stalk (fig. 109). If we cut 

 through such a fig, we shall see that there are numerous minute 

 flowers inside (fig. 109, 2). The round fig, then, is not the fruit 

 of one single flower, like the guava or the pomegranate, but is 



