138 BUDS AND STIPULES 



two are also pointed ; the next few are rounded and short ; 

 those following more and more elongated, and ovate, 

 membranous, except at the base, becoming strongly ciliate 

 or hairy at the margins, and densely hairy at the base 

 on the inner face. The number of leafless stipules 

 differs in different buds, but there are sometimes more 

 than forty, or twenty pairs, before those containing the 

 first leaf. Figs. 21 5-235 represent the series in a single 

 bud. The first leaves are small, and often bent and 

 crumpled from not having room to extend either 

 longitudinally or laterally. They are obovate, very 

 shortly petiolate, with two and three or three and four 

 lateral lobes and a terminal one, greenish yellow and 

 glabrous, with the exception of a few hairs on the 

 midrib, especially on the under-side, with a few small 

 hairs at the edges of the lobes beneath. They are 

 accommodated in the middle line between the angles 

 formed by the stipules and by the thinning away of 

 the edges of the latter ; and the lobes seem to favour 

 their being crumpled laterally or pressed together at 

 the sides, as they have not room to develop in a 

 straight line. 



The hairs at the edges of the stipules serve to keep 

 the buds compact, and to drain away moisture down 

 the outside. The hairs at their base internally fill up 

 the space where the leaves become narrowed towards 

 the petiole, and would also serve to keep the young 

 and tender leaves warm. 



