MONOCOTS AND DICOTS 



69 



FIG. 15 



A FIR 



MONOPODIAL GROWTH AND 

 VERY REGULAR BRANCHING 



CRINUM, Onion and nearly 

 all bulbous and narrow- 

 leaved plants together with 

 the Palms, and a few with 

 broad leaves, as the Yams 

 and Arums. 



There is, as a matter 

 of fact, a third group of 

 quasi -flowering plants, 

 with which however we 

 are not concerned in 

 this book. Their seeds 

 are borne on the out- 

 side of special scales, not 

 inside a pod, and for this 

 reason they are known as 

 GYMNOSPERMS. On the 

 plains of India there are 

 very few examples of this 

 group, the common Cycad 

 (CYCAS ClRCiNALis) being 

 about the only one ; on 

 the hills there are a few 

 others, but for the most 

 part planted by Europeans, 

 and not wild, such as the 

 Pines and Firs (fig. 15). In 

 colder, climates this group 

 is of much greater impor- 

 tance than it is with us. 



