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MORPHOLOGICAL AND STRUCTURAL BOTANY. 
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THE most superficial examination by the unassisted eye of any 
of the more highly developed plants enables us to distinguish 
various parts or organs, as root, stem, leaves, and the parts of 
the flower. A similar examination of plants of lower organisa- 
tion presents to our notice either the same organs, or organs of 
an analogous nature to those of the higher plants. By a more 
minute examination of these several organs by the microscope, 
it will be found that they are all made up of others of a simpler 
kind, in the form of little membranous closed sacs, called cells, 
and elongated tubular bodies, of various forms, sizes, and ap- 
pearances, which are combined in various ways. Hence, in 
describing a plant we have two sets of organs to allude to, 
namely, the compound organs or those which are visible to the 
naked eye, and the elementary structures of which they are 
composed. A knowledge of these elementary structures or 
building materials of plants is absolutely essential to a complete 
and satisfactory acquaintance with the compound organs ; but, 
previously to describing them, it will materially assist our in- 
vestigations if we give a general sketch of the compound organs 
and of the plants which are formed by their union. According 
to the number of these compound organs, and the greater or 
‘less complexity which they exhibit, so, in a corresponding de- 
gree, do plants vary in such particulars. Hence we find plants 
exhibiting a great variety of forms ; that part of Botany which 
has for its object the study of these forms and their component 
organs is called Morphology; while that part which relates to 
their internal structure, including the description of elementary 
structure or Vegetable Histology, is commonly termed Structural 
Botany. These two parts together constitute what has been 
termed Organography. These parts are most conveniently 
studied together; we shall therefore, after describing the 
general morphology of the plant, and the elementary structures 
which are common to all parts of plants, proceed to consider 
separately the different organs which are made up of these elemen- 
tary structures both with reference to their outward forms and 
internal stucture. 
