68 GENERAL BOTANY 



into two groups, those which have one cotyledon and 

 those which have two. And the plants of these 

 two groups differ in many other respects too, for, 

 when full-grown, Beans, Melons and Castors have a 

 well-branched shoot and broad flat leaves with veins 

 that branch in all directions, and leaf-stalks which stand 

 out more or less at right angles to the axis, so that 

 the blades face the light. The stems of Paddy and 

 Wheat or Maize on the other hand are not branched, 

 except quite close to the ground, and their leaves are 

 long and narrow, with parallel veins and no petioles. 

 The Onion has no stem at all above ground, except 

 for the flowers, all the leaves springing directly from 

 the short bulbous stem. The Coco-nut and Palmyra 

 and palms in general certainly have a stem, but this 

 practically never branches, and their large flat leaves 

 are not a bit like those of our ordinary trees. 



We see then that the difference in the cotyledons 

 accompanies differences of the shoot and leaves and 

 in fact in the general character of the mature plants ; 

 and for this reason all ordinary flowering plants have 

 been divided into two great classes distinguished as 

 monocotyledons and dicotyledons. 



I. The DICOTYLEDONS have two cotyledons, and 

 include all our trees (other than Palms), ordinary 

 shrubs (but not Bamboos) and nearly all broad-leaved 

 flowering plants, except Caladiums, Arums, and Yams 

 (DIOSCOREA). 



II. The MONOCOTYLEDONS have but one coty- 

 ledon, and include all our cereal plants (Maize, Paddy, 

 Wheat, Cholam and Grasses), in all of which, the 

 cotyledon is specially modified as the scutellum, Lilies, 



