CHAPTER V 



LEAVES, BUDS AND FLOWERS 



Now we are ready to consider the leaf, the bud, and the 

 flower. To the beginner in plant study, these three parts 

 may seem to be wholly unrelated, and yet we shall find, 

 as we proceed, that they are all forms of foliar parts. 

 We have seen that one or more leaves are normally 

 formed at each node of the stem (115) ; and we shall 

 find a similar arragement for buds and flowers. 



THE LEAVES 



120. The function of leaves is food preparation (58). 

 Since food is prepared only in the light, the cells of leaves 

 are in most plants so arranged as to best expose them to 

 light, i.e., in thin, more or less horizontal plates, which 

 are strengthened and at the same time supplied with 

 water by a network of vascular bundles (67) connecting 

 with the stem. They are protected by the epidermis 

 (64), but have access to air through the stomata (65). 



Each leaf, like the stem and root, is developed from 

 one or more growing points (66), located near the base. 

 Cell division in the leaf is confined to the near vicinity 

 of the growing points, hence an injury to the older part 

 of the leaf is not repaired further than by the formation 

 of callus (72) over the wounded parts. 



