PART I— MORPHOLOGY 



CHAPTER- 1 



INTRODUCTION 



Plants grow all around us, and we have a general 

 idea of what they are. We know that they are ordin- 

 arily fixed, to the ground by means of roots which lie 

 concealed therein; have aerial trunks or stems, short 

 or long, branched or unbranched ; and that the stems 

 and "branches bear green leaves of various forms and 

 sizes. We also know that after a time these plants 

 come to bear flowers, which gradually disappear, 

 giving rise to fruits; that the latter when ripe contain 

 within them seeds, and that these ripe seeds on falling 

 to the ground germinate and produce young plants 

 or seedlings which gradually grow into plants similar 

 to their parents. 



This is our general idea of the body of a plant and 

 of the way in which it reproduces. The plant body, 

 in fact, is seen to consist of roots, stems, leaves, 

 flowers, fruits, and seeds. These members, or parts 

 of a plant body, namely, roots, stems, leaves, flowers, 

 fruits, and seeds, are seen to be used by the plant for 

 two different purposes. By means of the roots, stems, 

 and leaves a plant grows and thrives, whereas by 

 means of flowers, fruits, and seeds it reproduces it- 

 self. So we may call the first three members of the 



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