WAYSIDE WEEDS. 



143 



-dfegrees of stiffness, from the softest down ta the 

 stiff bristles of the viper's bugloss and its con- 

 geners, or the set^ or spines of rose or bramble ; 

 these, however,, belong to- the subject of plant- 

 covering generally, of which hereafter. Our stems, 

 hitherto, have been all honest aboveground stems, 

 but we must notice some which, although claiming 

 to be, and really being, true stems, yet hide them- 



Fig, 89.— Boot, etc., of common Crocus : a, rootlets ; &, root-crown ; c, solid 

 underground stem, nsuallj called the bulb; d (2, leaf and flower-buds pro' 

 ceeding tcom underground stem. 



selves under the surface of the soil. Such, most 

 familiarly, are the corms, or underground stems, 

 roots or bulbs they are often erroneously called, 

 of the common crocus (Kg. 89). If you look at 

 bur illustration you will see that the rootlets are 

 attached to the root-plate which underlies the mass 

 that is generally called the bulb, and which is really 

 rather an appendage to the stem than the stem 

 itself. The scaly bulb of the white lily is a true 



