280 



TYPICAL FLOWERING PLANTS 



cause only the plumule comes above the ground. The 

 kernel of the corn remaining in the ground shrinks as the 

 plant grows and as the food is used. The modified coty- 

 ledon (scutellum) dies when it has served its purpose of 



Figure 273. — Stem of Corn. 

 Showing node and fibrovascular bundles. 



transferring to the young seedling the food stored in the 

 endosperm. 



212. The Root System of Corn. — There are many fibrous 

 roots of small size, which extend to a distance of several 

 feet in every direction. Besides these underground roots, 



the corn plant has aerial 

 roots growing from the 

 lower joints of the stem, 

 and these are known as 

 prop roots. These roots 

 are stout, straight, some- 

 times green, branching 

 in the soil. They serve 

 to hold the plant firmly 

 in the soil. 



213. The Corn Stem. — 

 While the roots of the 

 bean and corn are similar 

 in structure, there are 

 several differences in the stems of these plants. The corn 

 stem has no central region filled with pith, but the pith 

 makes up the greater part of the interior. Scattered 

 through it are stringlike parts, fibrovascular bundles, 



Figure 274. 



-Elm and Older Maple 

 Seedlings. 



