26 



ELEMENTS OP STRUCTURAL BOTANY. 



32. Mallow. The round-leaved Mallow (Fig. 31) 



grows along every 

 wayside, and is 

 a very common 

 weed in cultivat- 

 ed grounds. Pro- 

 cure, if possible, 

 a plant which has 

 ripened its seeds, 

 as well as one in 

 flower. The root 

 Fig. 33. of this plant is of 

 of a different kind 

 from those of the 

 three plants first 

 examined. It 

 consists of a stout 

 tapering part, de- 

 scending deep in- 

 to the soil, from the surface of which fibres are given off 

 irregularly. A stout root of this kind is called a tap-root. 

 The carrot is another example. 



33. The leaves are long-petioled, net-veined, and in^ 

 dented on the edges. On each side of the petiole, at its 

 junction with the stem, you will observe a little leaf-like 

 attachment, to which the name stipule is given. The 

 presence or absence of stipules is a point of some import- 

 ance in plant-structure, and you will do well to notice it 

 in your examinations. You have now made yourselves 



Fig. 31. Round-leaved Mallow. Fig. 32. Section of the flower. 



Fig. 33. Flower with calyx and corolla removed. 

 Fig. 34. A ripened pistil with the persistent calyx. 



Fig. 34. 



