SURFACES OF LEAVES. 19 



*' Ciliated," when set round with fine hairs resembling eye-lashes, 

 beautifully exemplified in the newly-expanded foliage of the 

 beech-tree. 



" Waved," when the edge is in little concaves and ridges, as in 

 drawings of sea- waves. (Fig. 34.) 



After this we must observe the point, or extremity which lies 

 remotest from the petiole ; or if a sessile leaf, then remotest from the 

 stem. It is called — 



" Pointed," when as in Fig. 37. 



" Acute," when the point is fine. 



" Acuminate," when long drawn out. (Fig. 39.) 



" Obtuse " or " blunt," when rounded off. (Fig. 17, p. 13.) 



" Abrupt," when the end seems amputated. 



The surface has likewise to be considered, the varieties being 

 designated as follows : — 



" Glabrous," when totally devoid of down or hairiness. 



" Glossy," when not only glabrous, but polished and shining. 



" Downy" or "pubescent," when covered with soft, short hairs. 



" Hairy," when the hairs are few, and stand erect. 



" Bristly," when the hairs are very stiff, as well as erect. 



" Silky," when the hairs are long and white, and lie flat, as in 



silverweed. 

 " Rough," when like an elm leaf. 

 " Puckered," when like a primrose leaf. 

 " Glaucous," when of a bluish or gray-green colour, as in the 



carnation. 



All these conditions incessantly recur, the different outlines, points, 

 edges, surfaces, &c., being combined in hundreds of different ways, 

 and constituting the finest and oldest heraldry in the world. 



Looked at against the light, and often without recourse to this, 

 leaves are seen to be traversed in all directions by delicate lines. 

 These indicate sap tubes and threads of woody matter, and are called, 

 though rather inappropriately, the " veins." The mode of their dis- 

 persion i? exceedingly important to notice, being concurrent with 

 peculiarities of structure in the stem, flowers, and other parts, and 

 often a ready guide to the family a plant belongs to. There are six 

 principal varieties : — 



