ix.] BOTANY. 39 



ment of their internodes (Par. 50), and may produce 

 leaves only, or flowers, or both ; or they may in some 

 rare cases fall away from the plant (tiger-lily), and 

 form new plants, sending roots downwards and stems 

 upwards. 



If the terminal bud produce only an inflorescence 

 (Par. 75) its onward growth is stopped, and lateral 

 buds form below it and are developed into.permanent 

 branches. This takes place in the horse-chestnut 

 and lilac, and gives an angular character to their 

 branching. In many half-woody plants, the branches 

 grow on indefinitely till killed by the winter's cold, 

 when buds form low down on the stem which develop 

 similar branches in the following spring. 



64. Buds may, instead of simply elongating into 

 branches, grow in width and form short fleshy tubers, 

 of which the potato is an example. A careful exami- 

 nation of a potato plant shows that it consists of an 

 underground branched ascending stem, which bears 

 root-fibres, and shortened fleshy tuberous branches 

 (the potatoes), covered with eyes, which are buds in 

 the axils of undeveloped leaves. The bulbils at the 

 side of the bulb of a hyacinth or crocus are buds. 



65. The tendrils of the Virginia creeper are modi- 

 fied branches whose divisions expand at their tips 

 into glue-tipped suckers, that fix the branches to the 

 wall. The tendrils of the grape-vine are also branches 

 with spirally-twisted thread-like divisions, which on 

 finding a support twine round it, following the same 

 course as twining stems (Par. 51). The spines of 

 most plants are stiff shortened branches (hawthorn, 

 sloe). (Prickles are quite different things, and will be 

 explained in Par. 138 (e).) 



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