ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURAL BOTANY. 



3. Let us now look at the 

 Stem (Fig. 3). It is upright, 

 pretty firm, coloured green, 

 and leaves spring from it at 

 intervals. As there is scarcely 

 any appearance of wood in 

 it, we may describe it as 

 herbaceous. At several points 

 along the main stem branches 

 are given off, and you will 

 observe that immediately be- 

 lew the point from which every 

 branch springs there is a leaf 

 on the stem. The angle be- 

 tween the leaf and the stem, 

 on the upper side is called the 

 axil of the leaf (axilla, an 

 armpit), and it is a rule to 

 which there are scarcely any 

 exceptions, that branches can 

 only spring from, the axils of 

 leaves. 



The stem and all the 

 branches of our plant termi- 

 nate, at their upper extremi- 

 ties, either in flowers or in flower- buds. 



4. Let us now consider the LeaV6S A glance will 

 show you that the leaves of this plant are not all alike. 

 Those at the lower end of the stem have long stalks (Fig. 

 4), which we shall henceforward speak of as petioles. Those 

 a little higher up have petioles too, but they are not 



Fig. 3. 



Fig. 3. Stem of Buttercup. 



