FOLIAGE. I 5 I 



about five or six pairs of very young leaves may be 

 counted, all following, and one inside the other. In 

 Veronica a?tagallis, and (according to Mr. Paterson) in 

 the Stitch-wort {Ste/laria holostea), the bud leaves remain 

 flat, and pressed against one another, whilst the inter- 

 node of the stem is developing below them. The 

 shape of the bud is in the latter case not unlike a 

 lance, and it can be readily forced through any rank 

 grass or other vegetation above ; then, when it has 

 reached the light, the leaves open out and turn side- 

 ways into their natural horizontal position. Very often, 

 such a pair of leaves act as two supporting or grappling 

 hooks, clinging to the surrounding vegetation so that 

 the stem is supported by them. The curious down- 

 ward curve of the leaf-tips in the Stitch-wort, and the 

 little back-pointing teeth on the edge of the leaf of the 

 Veronica, assist these plants to hold to the surrounding 

 herbage. 



It is quite exceptional to find leaves in the bud 

 entirely destitute of hairs, although they may lose 

 them altogether before they are mature. The young 

 Colt's-foot leaf is entirely wrapped up in fleecy white 

 cotton, which eventually disappears from the upper 

 surface. The little Ivy leaf is also very prettily 

 covered with a rougher and more mealy covering. 

 In plants such as Vibtirnum lantana^ which ha\'e " naked 

 buds" a dense mass of hairs forms the only protection 

 of the young leaves, but it is quite unnecessary to give 

 many instances, as almost any plant in spring will be 

 found worth examination. The Beech, Goose-grass, 

 Stachys, Foxglove, and Verbascum are amongst the very 

 best examples. 



A dull red colour is also very characteristic of young 

 foliage. The young shoots in a hawthorn hedge are 



