74 THE OAK 



conical growing-point, consisting of embryonic tissue, 

 occupies the centre ; around this, arranged in a close 

 spiral, are several young rudiments of foliage leaves, each 

 consisting of meristem, the cells of which are undergoing 

 divisions. The youngest leaf is next the apex of the cone 

 i.e. the order of development is acropetal and each is 

 folded with the upper surfaces of each half in contact; two 

 extremely minute stipules accompany each leaf. Lower 

 down on the cone come the numerous (about thirty) over- 

 lapping scales, and between several pairs of the upper of 

 these the male inflorescences develop. The female in- 

 florescences are developed in the axils of two or three 

 of the above-described true leaves in a terminal bud ; 

 they are not normally formed in the lateral buds of the 

 shoot (see Chapter IX.). 



All the leaves of the shoot may have such buds 

 formed in their axils during the summer, but only some 

 of them develop in the following spring ; it is the buds 

 in the axils of the lower leaves of the shoot which 

 usually come to nothing. 



The normal course of events is that the bud-scales 

 (stipules) become dry, and the protected growing-point, 

 with its rudimentary leaves and flowers, passes into a 

 dormant condition lasting through the winter ; but it is 

 a very common event, especially in a wet autumn follow- 

 ing a dry, hot summer, to find the winter buds begin- 

 ning to shoot out in August, and not passing into the 

 prolonged state of dormancy. Such stoots are known 

 as Lammas shoots. In some districts the oak forms 



