PHYTOLOGY. 297 



ribbed leaves ; lastly, their corollas, ovaria, and seeds are 

 perfect ; but still they invariably have no genuine fruits. 



1603. Finally, the Palms are elevated above all by 

 their stem being rich in tracheae and wooded, as also by 

 the perfection of their fruit. Scientifically, the scapose 

 or shaft-plants must also resolve themselves into three 

 classes ; into Bark-, Liber-, and Wood-plants. 



CLASS IV. 

 Bark-plants Graminece. 



1604. In these plants the whole stalk must have 

 assumed the form of the cortex or bark, and consequently 

 be hollow tubular, or culmaceous plants. 



1605. A mere bark cannot ramify. But the tendency 

 unto ramification is manifested as nodes nodose plants. 



1606. The leaf which still represents the bark, is only 

 imperfectly slit up, and therefore still forms a tube. 

 Such leaves are called tubular or spathe-leaves proper. 



1607. Such tubular leaves being only half slit up 

 can only shoot forth gradually from each other, and 

 that indeed in such a manner that they stand actually by 

 twos, encased in, or opposite to, each other. 



1608. Since the blossom is, as it were, an impression, 

 or copy of the leaves, so will it here also consist only of 

 spathiform, involucral, or calycine leaves, and only of 

 two, one of which, though opposite to, is surrounded 

 by the other. Such floral parts are called glumes 

 ylumaceous plants. If four glumes are present, then the 

 external pair of them corresponds to the involucrum or 

 spatha, the internal to the calyx. 



1609. The corolla-petals are of necessity arrested in 

 plants such as these, where no true leaf is as yet 

 developed; frequently two only are left persistent as 

 pellicles or lodiculce. 



1610. This is still more the case with the ovary and 

 seed ; in each only one leaf attains development, and the 

 seed has entirely coalesced with the ovarium. This kind 

 of fruit is called cart/o^sis. 



