422 



GENEKAL BOTANY 



the winter months, the underground rhizome enables these plants 

 to live protected from any danger of drought or destruction by 

 freezing. In the spring the young buds and growing roots are 



FIG. 269. Stages in the development of Erythronium 



First year, germinating seed and seedling ; second and third years, first bulb ; fourth 



and fifth years, new bulbs being formed deeper in the soil ; sixth and seventh years, 



larger bulbs and plants. From Bergen and Caldwell's "Practical Botany " 



furnished with an abundance of food stored up during the 

 previous season in the rhizome and now digested and circulated 

 for use in spring growth. 



Erythronium (Fig. 268) occupies much the same habitat as 

 Smilacina and has the same general habit and seasonal life. The 



