88 



THE ROOT. 



welt-known instance. The strong roots, emitted in the open air 

 from the lower part of the trunk, soon reach the soil, as is shown 



in Fig. 117, giving 

 the tree the appear- 

 ance of having been 

 partially raised out 

 of the ground. The 

 famous Banyan-tree 

 (Fig. 119) affords a 

 still more striking 

 illustration. Here 

 the aerial rootlets 

 strike from the hor- 

 izontal branches of 

 the tree, often at a 

 great height, and 

 swing free in the 

 air, like pendent 

 cords ; but they fi- 

 nally reach and es- 

 tablish themselves 

 in the ground, where 

 they increase in di- 

 ameter and form numerous accessory trunks, surrounding the 



FIG. 117. The Pandanua, or Screw-Pine ; with, 113, a Mangrove-tree (Rhizophora Mangle). 

 FIG. 119. The Banyan-tree, or Indian Fig (Ficus Indica). 



