VII. 1 STEMS. 43 



156. Here is a mushroom, >r Toad- 

 stool, with the cap, (Fig. 24, a) elevated 

 by its stem or stipe (e). 



157. Herbaceous stems usually die 

 every year ; in some cases, when the root 

 lives more than one year, the stem is an- 

 nual, as in the Tulip. 



158. Woody stems are composed of 

 tough fibres, as the oak, currant-bush, &e. 

 Plants with woody stems are generally 

 much longer lived than herbaceous 

 plants. 



159. Pithy stems, like the elder, are in their centre composed 

 of a soft substance, called medulla, or marrow. Some stems 

 are solid, as the Box ; hollow, as the Onion ; and corky, as the 

 Cork tree. 



160. The stem is either simple, or divided into branches^ 

 The divisions of the main stem are called branches ; the divi- 

 sions of the branches are called branchlets, or boughs. 



161. Branches sometimes grow without any regular order; 

 sometimes they are opposite ; sometimes alternate ; and some- 

 times, as in certain species of the pine, they form a series of 

 rings around the trunk. Some branches are erect, as in the pop- 

 lar ; others are pendant, as in the willow ; some, as in the oak, 

 form nearly a right angle with the trunk. 



162. A remarkable phenomenon is described by travellers 

 as being exhibited by the stems of the Banyan tree of India, 

 called the Ficus Indicus; these stems throw out fibres, which de- 

 scend and take root in the earth. In process of time, the stems 

 become large trees ; and thus from one primitive root, is formed 

 a little forest. The tree is called by various names; as the In- 

 dian-God-tree, the arched-Fig-tree, &c. The Hindoos plant it 

 near their temples, and in many cases the tree itself serves them 

 for a temple. Milton speaks of this tree as the one from which 

 Adam and Eve obtained leaves to form themselves garments; 

 he says: 



156. What is the stem of the mushroom called ? 



157. What are herbaceous stems composed of? 



158. JVhat are woody stems 1 



159. Wha: other kinds of stems are there? 



160. What are branches and boughs? 



161. What are the different appearances presented by branchesl 

 What is said of the Banyan tree? 



