On the Buds aiid Ramifications of Plants. 233 



I shall now explain what, in nty opinion, ought to be 

 comprehended under the denomination ot" the luds of pha- 

 negoram plants. I give this name to all the o>ga?>s of these 

 plants ivhich contain the nidinunti or germs of stems, 

 branches, leaves, flowers, and even rootji : each oj thrte 

 parts separately, or several of them united ; or, in a ward, 

 the u'hole together. This name belongs to them whatever 

 be their size ; their number ; that ot the different parts of 

 which they are composed ; the time of their appearance ; 

 their property of being preserved ; the species which pro- 

 duces them, and the place of their insertion : modifications 

 and peculiarities which depend on the different structure of 

 the plants as well as the circumstances under which they 

 are placed. 



The definition I have given seems to me to unite several 

 advantages : it embraces not only the whole of the organs 

 together, even in regard to their origin ; it dispenses also 

 with the inconvenience of admitting a great nun>ber of ex- 

 ceptions in the uniform progress of nature; exceptions 

 which no doubt prove that they have not been sufficiently 

 examined. It is pretended that shrubs are distinguished 

 from bushes or trees by their ramitications not being the 

 result of buds. This disiinftion is mer;ly arbitrary, since 

 these plants reallv produce them ; but their buds are very 

 small, exceedingly thin, destitute of dry scales, and some- 

 times alinost entirely concealed till the spring under the 

 bark of the branches. 



Admitting the definition I have proposed, it will be ob- 

 served that buds differ from each other by a great number 

 of characters in the various species of plants. I shall hcrp 

 mention only those traits which are indispensably necessary 

 to support my definition. 



In the ligneous monocotyledon plants the whole course of 

 life is confined to the development of the first bud. arising 

 from the neck of the root or place where it is joined to the 

 stem. This bud contains the germs of all the organs which 

 appear above the earth, and the end of its development is 

 the term also of the life of the same plant. These plants, 

 however, generally live one, and even several, centuries. 



The propagation of plants by scions, by bulbs, and by 

 other similar organs, which is very common to the herba- 

 ceous monocotyledons, is not essential I ■ different from that 

 by buds, as has been completely proved by M. Mirbel and 

 several other botanists. Scions and buibs are real buds; 

 they are organs which contain the principles ot new stems, 

 branches, leaves, flowers^ and roots. The part of the plant 



which 



