OF THE ROOT. 55 



real root ; and it is a singular fact that this nutricious substance 

 is the product of a plant whose fruit (often termed potatoe balls) 

 is poisonous. The root of some of the orchis plants consists of 

 two tubers, resembling the two lobes into which a bean may 

 be divided, c. Tuberous roots are knobbed as in the potatoe ; 

 oval, as in the orchis ; abrupt, as in the plantain ; fasciculated, 

 when several are bundled together, as in the asparagus, and 

 several species of orchis. 



7th. Bulbous root (Radix bulbosa.) (Fig. 19.) A fleshy 

 root of a bulbous or globular form. It seems like a large ball 

 placed under ground, to enclose and protect the future plant. 

 Bulbous plants belong chiefly to the great division of Monocoty- 

 ledons, or those whose seeds have but one cotyledon ; they pro- 

 duce some of the earliest flowers of spring, and afford some of 

 the most beautiful ornaments of the garden. Among them are 

 the Hyacinth, the Crown Imperial, the Lily, and the Tulip, 

 with a great variety of other splendid and interesting flowers. 

 The use of the bulb being to preserve the future plant from 

 the effect of cold, we see the bountiful agency of Providence 

 in the greater number of bulbous plants in cold countries. 



Bulbs seem to be analogous to the buds of trees, and in some 

 plants they grow like buds upon the stems or branches ; as in 

 one species of lily and the magical onion ; in the latter of which 

 the bulbs or onions grow upon the stalk in clusters of four or 

 five ; they continue to enlarge, until their weight brings them 

 to the ground ; here, if not prevented, they take root. This is 

 a viviparous plant, or one which produces its offspring alive ; 

 such plants as produce seeds, or such animals as produce their 

 offspring from eggs, are called oviparous. Bulbs are solid, as 

 in the turnip (Fig. 19, a), scaly, as in the lily (b), and tunicated 

 or coated (c), as in the onion. 



Fig. 19. 



Tubers, as the potatoe, not the real root Different forms of tuberous roots 

 Bulbous root Use of the bulb -Analogous to buds Viviparous and oviparous 

 plants -Different forms of bulbous root* Difference in the production of plants 

 by means of bulbs and seeds. 



