IO NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



PLANT STRUCTURE 1 



No one who loves plants, either cultivated or wild, has failed to note 

 how they differ from one another in shape, size, color and arrangement of 

 the flowers, the leaves and other parts. These features are essentially the 

 same in all individuals of a given species, but differ greatly in individual 

 plants not belonging to the same species or variety. 



To express these differences requires a terminology that is familiar 

 largely only to those who have studied botany. The fact that it is practically 

 impossible to describe a plant accurately without the use of a certain number 

 of these special terms is a great impediment to a broad familiarity with 

 our wild flowers on the part of all those who would like to study them with 

 the aid of botanical guides. Because of the great variety of flowering 

 plants and the minuteness of the flowers on many of them, the difficulty of 

 identification is even greater than that connected with the study of bird 

 and animal life. 



The following brief summary of the terms necessary to an accurate 

 description of a flowering plant, taken alone, means little to the average 

 reader. Taken in connection with the plants as they are found growing 

 and carefully studied, these terms, as soon as understood, place one on a 

 footing of easy familiarity with the wild flowers, so that an accurate descrip- 

 tion as given in books means something definite and enables one to decide 

 if the given description applies to the plant under consideration. Supple- 

 mented by illustrations, a study of the terminology used enables the student 

 to acquire a much wider knowledge of our wild flowers. 



Leaves 



The leaf is an essential organ of all plants which live independently, 

 that is, are not parasitic upon other plants (like the Dodder) or saprophytic 

 upon dead plant remains (like the Indian Pipe). The leaf manufactures 



1 The cuts in this section are adapted from Gray's Lessons in Botany. Copyright by 

 Asa Gray. Reproduced by permission of the American Book Company, publishers. 



