36 



BOTANY FOR BEGINNERS. 



VL 



seems to be expended upon the blossom and fruit. The onion, 

 beet, and carrot, are biennial plants. 



133. Perennial roots live many years ; among them are the 

 asparagus, dandelion, and grasses, and all trees and woody plants. 



134, Climate and cultivation affect the duration of the rootj 

 of vegetables. Some perennial plants become annual by trans- 

 planting them into cold climates: the garden nasturtion, a pe- 

 rennial shrub or woody plant of South America, has become in 

 3ur latitude an annual plant. 



Form of Roots. 



Pig. 12. 



The shape of roots is 

 different in different kinds 

 of plants; the most com- 

 mon form is the 



135. Branching root, 

 which is divided into ma- 

 ny parts, like the branch- 

 es of a tree ; same of these 

 branches extend deep into 

 the earth, while others 

 creep along its surface. 

 Roots that have been torn 

 up have been known to 

 become branches covered with leaves, and branches buried in 

 the earth have become roots, and sent out fibres or radicles.-r- 

 The radicles are the real roots, as they imbibe, through pores, 

 the moisture and salts which the earth affords for the nourish- 

 ment of the plant. 



136. Fibrous roots consist almost 

 wholly of radicles. Most of the annual 

 plants, and also the grasses, have roots ol 

 this kind. The fibres usually grow di- 

 rectly from the bottom of the stem ; by ob- 

 serving them in a handful of grass, you can 

 understand the description, better than bj 

 any drawing. 



133. What are perennial roots'? 



134. What affect the duration of plant: I 



135. Describe branching roots. 



136. Describe fibrous roots. 



