FLOWER-LAND. 



fus1forn?roof 



varieties of this kind of root The 

 hard and woody tap root of a tree is 

 often much branched. And very often the 

 main root of a plant begins to be branched 

 so soon, and the whole root is branched so 

 much, that you cannot clearly distinguish 

 any tap root Indeed, in some plants, the 

 radicle does not grow downwards in one 

 main root at all, but breaks out from the 

 seed at once in many rootlets. You can 

 see this very well in a young wheat plant 

 whilst the seed is still attached to it You 

 will easily find one in this stage of growth 



^ y ou ^^ m tne wneat ^ e ^ when the 

 blades of wheat are just appearing 



above the ground. Now let us pull up a common 



plant, a buttercup, dead nettle, or bit of groundsel, 



and see how its root is branched. These branches 



of the root are called "fibres" and the root is "fibrous" 



(Figs. I, 2, 27). These root fibres 



vary very much in thickness. 



They vary from the thread-like 



fibres of the common grass, to 



the string-like bluntish ones of 



the daisy or orchis ; and to the 



thick, woody, cord-like fibres, 



branching and tapering down to 



fine and thread-like ends, as in 



the roots of trees (Fig. 50). 



The finest thread-like branches 



Fig. 50. A branching 

 root. 



