188 LABORATORY AND FIELD EXERCISES 



4. Summary and comparisons. Summarize the contrasting 

 characteristics of monocotyledons and dicotyledons 

 under the following headings : 



a. Habit. 



(1) Leaves : form and venation. 



(2) Stem : general characters and anatomy. 



(3) Roots: general characters. 



b. Reproduction. 



(1) Floral plan. 



(2) Seed and embryo. 



Consult the text discussion under the comparison of dicoty- 

 ledons and monocotyledons. 



B. SOLOMON'S SEAL (POLYGONATUM) OR FALSE SOLOMON'S 

 SEAL (SMILACINA) 



1. Habitat. Ascertain by field studies the natural habitat 



of such forms of monocotyledons as the Solomon's 

 seal, in which there is a rhizome and an aerial stem. 

 Are they typical mesophytes or are they tropophytes 

 (plants which adjust themselves alternately to typical 

 mesophytic conditions and to dry semixerophytic condi- 

 tions) ? What structural provisions have the true and 

 false Solomon's seal for such environmental adjustment? 

 Is this a common adjustment in monocotyledons with 

 stems in the form of rhizomes or bulbs ? 



2. Habit. 



a. Tlie rhizome, or underground stem. 



(1) Are there nodes and internodes ? leaf scars and bud- 



scale scars ? scars produced by previous aerial 

 stems ? Are there other evidences that the rhi- 

 zome is a stem ? 



(2) Buds and growth. What structures are produced 



each season by the growth of buds on the rhizome ? 



