CONTENTS 



Part I — MORPHOLOGY 



Chapter I— INTRODUCTION 



PAGE 



Vegetative or nutritive members — root, stem, and leaf. Reproductive 

 members — flower, fruit, and seed. Higher and lower classes of 

 plants. Thallus — Thallophyta, Cormus — Cormophyta. Aquatic, 

 epiphytic, parasitic, saprophytic, symbiotic, insectivorous plants. 

 Morphology and Physiology i 



Chapter II— THE SEED 



Shape of, a round pit or micropyle on, a scar or hilum on a chhola, 

 boot or Gram (seed). Parts of the seed — testa, and embryo or 

 baby plant. Parts of the embryo — cotyledon and axis with its 

 radicle and plumule. Castor seed or rerhi^ parts of — embryo, 

 endosperm or albumen, and testa. Seeds albuminous or with 

 endosperm, exalbuminous or without endosperm. Unhusked 

 Rice or dhan, parts of— minute embryo with one cotyledon 

 (scutellura), endosperm, testa, and husk. Dicotyledons and 

 Monocotyledons 8 



Chapter III— THE SEEDLING 



Germination — tap-root, stem or shoot, axis of seedling of Gram. 

 Acropetal order of growth of leaves and branches. Fibrous root. 

 Roots avoid light, stems seek light. Requisites of germination — 

 heat, moisture, and air. Light retards germination. Seedlings 

 grow at the expense of food materials stored in the cotyledons as 

 in Pulses, or in the endosperm as in Cereals. Why Cereals and 

 Pulses are staple food-grains of mankind il 



Chapter IV— THE ROOT 



Root-cap, its function. Root-hairs, their function. Tap-root, forms of 

 — fusiform, napiform, or branched. Fibrous root — thin or thick 

 (tuberous). False or Adventitious root as opposed to True or 

 Radicular root. Roots — underground, aerial, aquatic. Breathing 

 roots. Lenticels. Stilted roots. Haustoria or suckers. Bien- 

 nials of cold countries become annuals in warm countries - 14 



