CHAPTER TEN 



LEAVES, BUDS, BLOSSOMS, AND BRANCHES 



HAVING learned to recognize several kinds of trees, 

 you will now be able to see more clearly how they differ 



in leaf arrangement, in 

 size of the buds, in their 

 blossoms, and in other 

 ways. Attention to these 

 points will help you in 

 identifying other kinds of 

 trees and in making ob- 

 servations on the trees 

 you see from day to day. 

 When you take up the 

 study of botany, you will 

 go more fully into the life 

 of a plant and you will 

 learn many facts that will 

 give more meaning to out- 



Stipul 



FIG. 38. The parts of a leaf. 



door life. In this chapter 

 we shall discuss only -a 

 few points that will help you to understand how a tree 

 lives and to interpret some of the things you observe 

 in the trees about you. 



Parts of a leaf. A leaf consists of the blade, or ex- 

 panded portion, and the petiole, or stalk. The veins 

 are composed of vessels (tracheae) for carrying water 

 to the leaves, other vessels for taking the food away 

 from the leaves, and tough fibers that help make a frame- 

 work for the support of the softer parts. These vessels 

 and fibers run through the petiole of the leaf into the 



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