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almost filiform, and pendulous. The year-shoots may attain 
the length of half a metre, they are always branched, often 
twice branched. The bark is green at first, but soon turns 
white and glossy. 
The distal part of the year-shoot often dies away before 
the next vegetative period. The new year-shoots arise close 
up to the dead part, the lower part of the old year-shoot 
being branchless. 
The year-shoot generally bears flowers towards its apex; 
a flower is placed in each axil and the length of the inter- 
nodes decreases upwards. In less luxuriant plants the 
branches are formed high up, and arise in the axils below 
the lowest flowers. These branches have rather short nodes, 
bear flowers in every leaf-axil and die away after the ripening 
of the fruits. They are thus annual assimilating as well as 
flowering shoots. In more vigorous plants the branches of 
a year-shoot are long, drawn out and zigzag, they are also 
numerous as they arise from almost every leaf-axil on the 
year-shoot (fig. 12). In the most strongly developed specimens 
the branches of the year-shoot are lignified, and are then 
scarcely assimilating shoots but rejuvenescence shoots. They 
may bear flowers in each leaf-axil or only in the upper ones, 
and as a rule they have flowering branches towards the 
apex. 
The year-shoot branches of secondary order are similar 
to the primary branches described above for the more feebly 
developed plants; they are flower-bearing, with short inter- 
nodes, and quickly perish. 
The year-shoot branches which bear flowers throughout 
their whole length — such as those in fig. 12 — live, to 
all appearances, only one vegetative period, and one often 
finds dead ones bearing the scars of fruits, they are thus 
assimilating and flowering shoots; on the other hand, the 
year-shoot branches, which bear leaves at the base, become 
so strong and thick that the lower part probably survives 
the winter. The tips of the branches, however, which in 
September are soft and still growing, probably die away like 
the tips of the main shoots. 
The small form of Salsola Arbuscula which prefers a 
