PERENNIALS 73 



very soft and juicy, like the Prickly-pear. These are 

 termed succulents, and usually have green stems and 

 no leaves, like OPUNTIA the Prickly-pear, or if there 

 are leaves they are very thick and fleshy, as in 

 BRYOPHYLLUM and KALANCHOE. 



Then there is a sixth group, which have a soft green 

 leafy part above ground, that dies down like an annual 

 each year, while the part below in the ground lives 

 on. Common instances of this are the Ginger plant, 

 Canna and Lily. These are perennial herbs. 



Of these six groups, all except the last live on 

 practically unchanged through the year, being able to 

 stand the heat and dryness of summer in the tropics, 

 or the cold of winter in the cooler parts of the world, 

 either because all the parts above ground except the 

 leaves are hard and woody (as in the Palms, Trees 

 and Shrubs), or because they contain quantities of 

 water stored up in their tissues (as the succulents), 

 this water being used up gradually during the hot 

 months, or because they drop their leaves in the dry 

 season. 



Look at a Prickly-pear, and see how soft and 

 watery it is at the end of the wet season ; and look 

 at it again after the dry months and see how thin and 

 shrunken it looks. The difference in appearance is 

 entirely due to the loss of the stored up water 

 which has taken place during the dry months. 



The sixth group has no woody or succulent parts, 

 but the perennial part, being underground, is not likely 

 to become too dry. This usually contains a good deal 

 of food material with which to build the new shoot at 

 the beginning of each year, and for this reason is 



