OF BUDS. 293 



Palm, we shall find, in this respect, that there is no 

 other difference but that the stem of the Palm is very 

 long, and, consequently, bears its bud very high, whilst 

 that of the Tulip is very short and leaves its bulb to be 

 developed under ground. Every intermediate state is 

 met with in species of the same class ; thus, we see the 

 stem take a greater elongation in certain species of 

 Allium, Crinum, Yucca, Draccena, &c. ; and we thus 

 arrive by insensible degrees from the scarcely visible 

 stem of bulbs to the long ones of Yucca, from the sub- 

 terranean buds of the Liliacese to the aerial ones of 

 Palms : we understand, then, how it happens that in the 

 same class there are sometimes very visible stems with- 

 out true bulbs, and sometimes bulbs without there 

 seeming to be any stem. 



What are called Offsets are nothing but the axillary 

 buds of bulbs, or in other terms, the young branches 

 which are developed in the axils of the leaves; they pre- 

 sent this peculiarity, which probably results from their 

 position, that they are only attached to the stem by a 

 slender filament which is easily broken. As they have 

 their scales fleshy and full of nutriment, they can be de- 

 veloped by themselves as tubercules ; and this frequently 

 happens when they are separated, either artificially or 

 naturally, from the mother plant. The buds of Dicoty- 

 ledons, detached from the tree, may vegetate, provided 

 they are placed, by the operation of budding, in a 

 similar situation ; those of bulbous Monocotyledons 

 carry with them sufficient nutriment stored up to enable 

 them to continue to grow, especially where they find 

 heat and moisture. 



We may distinguish in bulbous plants, as in trees, 

 leaf-buds, flower-buds, and mixed-buds ; thus, most 

 species of Amaryllis have at the same time the two first, 

 and the Tulip the last. 



