ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 11. 1-3 



they are derived sap, fibre, veins, flesh : for these 

 are elementary substances unless one should prefer 

 to call them the active principles of the elements ; 

 and they are common to all the parts of the plant. 

 Thus the essence 1 and entire material of plants 

 consist in these. 



Again there are other as it were annual parts, 

 which help towards the production of the fruit, as 

 leaf, flower, stalk (that is, the part by which the 

 leaf and the fruit are attached to the plant), 2 and 

 again tendril, 3 ' catkin ' (in those plants that have 

 them). And in all cases there is the seed which 

 belongs to the fruit : by ' fruit ' is meant the seed 

 or seeds, 4 together with the seed-vessel. Besides 

 these there are in some cases peculiar parts, such 

 as the gall in the oak, or the tendril in the vine. 



In the case of trees we may thus distinguish the 

 annual parts, while it is plain that in annual plants all 

 the parts are annual : for the end of their being is 

 attained when the fruit is produced. And with 

 those plants which bear fruit annually, those which 

 take two years (such as celery and certain others 6 ) 

 and those which have fruit on them for a longer time 

 -with all these the stem will correspond to the 

 plant's length of life : for plants develop a stem at 

 whatever time they are about to bear seed, seeing 

 fhat the stem exists for the sake of the seed. 



Let this suffice for the definition of these parts : 

 and now we must endeavour to say what each of the 

 parts just mentioned is, giving a general and typical 

 description. 



The sap is obvious : some call it simply in all cases 

 ' juice/ as does Menestor 6 among others : others, in 



8 cf. 7. 1.2 and 3. 6 A Pythagorean philosopher of Sybaris. 



17 



