BOTANICAL SUBJECTS, 163 



X.— ROOTS a:n"d tendrils. 



"What is the root ? 



After stating that in Thalloi^hytes there is no differentiation 

 into stem, leaf and root, that is, the thallus is functionally all three 

 in one, F. Goebel ("Outlines of Classif.," p. 3) says, " A true root, 

 " such as that of vascular plants, is, however, always wanting in 

 " the Thallophytes, though certain organs are usually present, which 

 " in a physiological and functional* sense we may designate as 

 " roots." 



Here we have the botanist first calling true roots those append- 

 ages which have in them a vascular system and other structures, 

 and then discarding the term as inapplicable to appendages, which, 

 though functionally identical, have no vessels, but are simply 

 cellular ! 



If the reader will turn to Fig. 41, he will see that the root of 

 that simple Mucor stolonifer is as true a root as that of Pepper- 

 mint, or other stoloniferous plant. It occupies the same position, 

 and has the same function. Xevertheless, its whole structure is 

 of the simplest. The rhizome is a hair, the roots are hairs, and the 

 branches are hairs. Then what is the difference between a true 

 root and a false root } 



This is one of many puzzles in botanical nomenclature which are 

 not easily solved, viz., a distinction without a difference. The one 

 is as true a root as the other. 



When a cellular structure is of the simplest, it naturally haiS 

 no need of vessels. Seaweeds admit of a complicated structure, 

 without vessels proper, because their apparatus of circulation is 



* Physiological means functional. 

 A p. 1724. j^ 2 



