13 



is called a false-dichotomy, or a dichasium. If three lateral 

 branches develop with equal vigour the branching is falsely tri- 

 chotomous. In botanical descriptions, however, no distinction 

 is as a rule made between falsely and truly di- or tri-chotom- 

 ous, the branching being merely described as dichotomous, or 

 trichotomous, respectively. We are accustomed to associate the 

 word branching principally with the stem of plants, but it 

 must be remembered that precisely similar branching may be 

 exhibited by the root, or leaf, or other members. 



Branches as a rule arise normally in acropetal succession and 

 in the leaf axils, i.e. they are axillary. Those which originate 

 otherwise are adventitious, i.e. they are developed out of 

 their proper order, or in altogether exceptional positions. 



As branches are usually axillary their arrangement follows 

 that of the leaves, and like leaves they may therefore 

 be opposite, sub-opposite, alternate, whorled and so on. 

 In many plants while some branches remain stunted and 

 short, others grow rapidly, and there are in consequence 

 elongated and dwarf shoots. These occur, for instance, in 

 Randia dumetorum and Pyrus Pashia, see Fig. 3, Plate II. 

 Such dwarf shoots in many cases develop into spines and at 

 first sight it is not always easy to decide whether such spines 

 are to be regarded as altered (metamorphosed) leaves, or stems, 

 but as a rule they are found in the axils of leaves, or they 

 themselves directly give rise to leaves, thus indicating that 

 they are stems, or rather branches. The spines of the Bel, 

 Aegle Marmelos, of Flacourtia Cataphracta and others may 

 frequently be seen bearing leaves, see Figs. 1 and 2, Plate III. 

 In the Pine we find that there are two kinds of leaves. 

 The first are small and scale-like, in the axils of which small 

 dwarf shoots with brown scales at the base and terminating in 

 two or more long green leaves, or needles, are borne. On the 

 dwarf-shoots of the Deodar the internodes remain so short 

 that the leaves (needles) appear to be in tufts, or fascicles. 



The tendrils of Gouania leptostachya do not at first sight 

 appear to be branches but, as in the case of the spines of the 

 Bel, the true nature of these organs is indicated by the fact 

 that they originate in the leaf -axils and bear leaves, just as do 

 normal branches, see Fig. 3, Plate III. 



In some plants the stem remains simple and does not 

 branch, e.g., in the majority of Palms. In a plant in which 

 the stem repeatedly branches, the branches thus produced 

 again branching and so on, such as is the case with most of our 



