BOTANICAL TERMS. 



Position. 



Subterranean : when, as in most cases, the root is under- 

 ground. 



Ai-;RiAL : when the roots spring from the sides of the stem 

 above ground, as in Poison l\"y, which uses roots for 

 climbing ; and in Indian Corn. 



Aquatic : when suspended in water, as in Duckweed. 



Duration. 



Annual : lasting one season only. 

 Biennial : lasting two seasons. 

 Perennial : lasting j-ear after year. 



THE STEM. 

 Class. 



Exogenous (or Dicotyledonous) : with the wood in annual 

 laj'ers or rings (Fig. 9). 



Note that plants with exogenous stems have also the 

 following characters : 



(a) The embrj'o of the seed has more than one (usually 

 two) cotyledons. 



(b) The leaves are net-veined. 



(c) The parts of the flower are usually not in threes or 

 sixes, but commonly in fours or fives. 



(d) Thej' have a true bark. 



Endogenous (or Monocotyledonous) : with the wood not in 

 rings but scattered through the stem (Fig. 10). 



Plants with endogenous stems have also the following 

 characters : 



(a) The embryo has but one cotyledon. 



(b) The leaves are nearly always straight-veined. 



(c) The parts of the flower are never in fives, but 

 almost invariably in threes or sixes. 



(d) They have no true bark. 



Attitude. 



Erect : growing directlj- upwards. 



Declined : bending over towards the ground. 



Prostrate, or Procumbent, or Trailing : lying flat along 



the ground. 

 Creeping : Ij^ing flat, and striking root at intervals (Fig. 11). 

 Diffuse : spreading in all directions. 

 Ascending : growing upwards in a slanting direction. 

 Climbing -. when the stem raises itself by means of tendrils 



(Fig. 12) or leaf-stalks, or hooked prickles, which lay 



hold of neighbouring plants or other objects. 

 Twining : when the stem itself coils round the support 



(Fig. 13). 



■^'^^■.-- 



Fig. ;». 



Fig. 10. 



Fig. 11. 



Fig. 12. 



Fif-'. 13. 



