THE PLANT BODY 69 



aquatic and parasitic plants roots are absent, their function 

 being taken over by other parts of the body such as stem or 

 leaves. (Fig. 30.) 



Without multiplying examples, it is clear that the part of 

 a plant which the botanist calls a root, and which typically 

 anchors the plant to the earth and takes water with food 

 materials in solution from the soil, frequently is highly modi- 



FIQ. 31. Propagation of the Strawberry plant by runners. A, parent plant; B, young 

 plant; b, modified leaf; r, runner or stem. (From Bergen and Caldwell.) 



fied and even assumes the duties of other organs in certain 

 plants which are adapted for special places in the economy 

 of nature. 



2. Stem 



The stem of the vascular plants is the axis of the shoot and 

 has two primary functions. First, to support and raise the 

 leaves into a position of vantage with respect to light; and, 

 second, to act as the medium of communication between the 

 absorbing organs, or roots, and the photosynthetic organs, 

 or leaves. But, like the root, it may be modified and diverted 



