STEMS. 17 



leaves and flowers upwards. In the wood anemone 

 they creep along just under the ground. 



If we can find any, we will loosen the earth with a 

 stick, and with care we shall get a piece two or three 

 inches long, and have a good specimen of one of these 

 underground stems. They have a special name, and 

 you will learn more about them when you get older. 



But I dare say you have planted snowdrop or tulip 

 bulbs in your garden. From the bottom of the bulb 

 the root grows downwards ; from the top of it, the 

 stem pushes its way upwards; and at last expands 

 into leaves and flowers (cf. Fig. 13). 



Some day you must dig up a daffodil or blue-bell 

 (hyacinth) or snowdrop plant, and perhaps you will 

 be surprised to find how deep it is in the earth. 



The next time you see an onion bed, if the onions 

 are large enough, you will see an example of a stem 

 swollen at the bottom (a bulbous stem), which is all 

 above the ground. 



We will look amongst the grass for some common 

 white clover. Now, follow its stem, and see how it 

 trails along the ground. It has a creeping stem. You 

 can see it again in this other kind of clover, which has 

 little round heads of yellow flowers about as big as peas. 



A plant with a little dark blue flower, common by 

 hedgesides, is such a good example of this kind of stem 

 that it is called Ground Ivy or Gill-run-along-the-ground 

 (Fig. 14). We shall be sure to find plants with 

 creeping stems. 

 3 



