74 RAMENTA. PART I. 



stalk.* This is the case also in the genus Poly- 

 gonum. 



Some stipulse are said to be deciduous, that is, 

 they fall off almost as soon as the leaves are fully 

 expanded, as those of Liriodendron Tulipifera or 

 the Tulip-tree ; but in general they fall only with 

 the leaf, as in the Rose and Willow. 



Utility in The stipulse are found by botanists to be of great 



discrhnt importance in specific discrimination ; and have 



nation. b een regarded as affording also a sufficient indication 



of the natural order and even genus to which any 



plant may belong. But this rule does not always 



hold good. For the stipulae are not always present 



in all species of the same genus. In the Cistus, for 



example, some species are furnished with stipulae 



while others are not.*{~ 



SECTION V. 



Ramenta. 



Their de- RAMENTA are thin, oblong, and strap-shaped 

 appendages of a brownish colour issuing from the 

 surface of the plant, and somewhat resembling the 

 stipulae ; but not necessarily accompanying the 

 leaves. The term, which literally signifies bits 

 of chips or shavings, seems to have been employed 

 by Linnaeus to denote the small and scattered scales 

 that are frequently found on the stems of vegetables, 

 * Smith's Introduction, 219. f Ibid. 220. 



