DIV. II 



ANGIOSPERMAE 



725 



leaves not separated by elongated internodes. In the axil of the third of these is a 

 bud which will form the flowering shoot of the next season. In spring the reserve 

 materials from the corm are absorbed and the old corm is pushed aside by the 

 swollen internode which in its turn enlarges to form a new corm. The three 

 foliage leaves expand their long, channelled, dark green laminae above the soil ; 

 their sheathing portions closely surround the axis. The latter bears the fruits, 

 which contain numerous, spherical, black seeds ; these are liberated by the 

 dehiscence of the capsule at the sutures (Fig. 797 /). Veratrum album is a con- 

 spicuous herb with a rosette of large, elliptical, longitudinally-folded leaves. The 

 growth of the main axis is terminated by an inflorescence, which is a panicle more 

 than a metre in height ; the leaves borne on it have long sheaths and diminish in 

 size from below upwards. The greenish-white flowers are polygamous. Schoeiw- 

 caulon (Sabadilla) qjficinale, a bulbous plant 

 of the Andes with grass-like leaves, has also 

 septicidal capsules. 



Such popular flowers as Tulipa (Fig. 204), 

 Hijacinthus, Lilium (Fig. 207), Muscari, and 

 Scilla, and vegetables as Allium, together 

 with Urginea (Fig. 798), which occurs in the 

 Mediterranean region, have on the other hand, 

 without exception, loculicidal capsules. Orni- 

 thogalum umbellatum (Fig. 799 a-e) will serve 

 as an example of this group. In autumn the 

 plant consists of a bulb, each of the fleshy 

 scales of which has a scar at the upper end. In 

 the axil of the innermost scale is the stalk of 

 the spent inflorescence together with a young 

 bud bearing a number of leaves. Each of these 

 leaves is provided with an embryonic lamina, 

 while the contimiation of the shoot is the 

 embryonic inflorescence. In spring the leaves 

 grow into long linear structures, and, together 

 witli the inflorescence, appear above ground. 

 The inflorescence is sparingly branched ; the FlG 

 white flowers have a trilocular ovary bearing 

 a common style. The upper parts of the 

 leaves wither, while the basal portions become 



swollen and fleshy and stored with reserve materials ; the scar at the upper part 

 of each scale marks the place of separation of the leaf-blade. The annual course 

 of development is essentially similar in other bulbous plants. The vegetative 

 period is restricted to a few months, while during the cold or, in the numerous 

 bulbous plants of warm-temperate climates, the dry seasons, the bulb is protected 

 by its subterranean situation. Aloe, a genus of African plants containing many 

 species (Figs. 800, 801), has succulent leaves with spiny margins. 



Dracaena (Fig. 802), an arborescent form which attains a great age and a 

 characteristic appearance, together with the similar genera, Cordyline and Yucca, 

 and Smilax (Sarsaparilla), a shrubby plant of warmer countries, climbing by 

 the help of tendril -like emergences at the base of the petioles, have berries. 

 Other examples are Asparagus with bunches of phylloclades in place of leaves, 

 Convallaria (Fig. 123), Maianthemum, Polygonatum (Fig. 138), and Paris quadri- 

 folia (Fig. 803) ; the latter bears whorls of four leaves, sometimes 3-6 leaves ( 41 ) 



801. Aloe socotrino. A, Inflores 

 cence. B, Flower. C, Ovary in cross- 

 section. 



