58 



Eetrooueva'tus — Synonym for " Eecur- 

 vus." Keteo'flbxcs— Synonym for 

 ' ' Reflexus. " KBTROlTBAO'Tns — Syno- 

 nym for " Refraotus." Eeteor'stjm, 

 Reteor'SUS — Used synonymously with 

 "Recurvus" and "Reflexus." Rbtro- 

 vee'sus — Synonym for " Inversus." 



Retuse', Retd'sdb (Blunted) — Having a 

 slight depression or sinus at the apex. 

 (See the leaves of an old plant of the 

 common Sida vpeed.) 



Revolu'bilis (Capable of being rolled back) 

 — Synonym for " Revolutivus," which 

 implies that an organ has its margins 

 rolled backwards upon the under sur- 

 face. 



Re'volute, Revolu'tds (Turned back) — 

 Rolled backwards from the extremity 

 upon the underside or surface, as the 

 flower lobes of Jasminum revolutum. 



Rha'ohis — In f erna, that part of the stem of 

 the frond upon which the pinnse are 

 placed, or the portion above the stipes. 

 Rhaohil'la — The axis of a grass spike- 

 let. 



Rheg'ma — See " Regma." 



Rhizan'thus— Synonym for "Radicalis." 



Rhi'zina — The peculiar roots of Mosses and 

 Lichens. 



Rhizoblas'tus — An embryo provided with 

 an incipient root. 



Rhizooae'pous, Rhizooaepia'nus, Rhizo- 

 oae'picus — An herbaceous perennial. 



RhIzo'genom — The dilated base of the 

 frond ' in certain Algs, from which 

 proceed root-like appendages by which 

 it adheres to its support. 



Rhizoi'deus — Resembling a root in general 

 appearance. 



Rhizo'me, RhizO'ma — A prostrate or sub- 

 terranean stem, from which roots are 

 emitted, and scaly leaves or branches 

 given off at the joints. Rhizomorphus 

 ■ — Assuming the appearance of a root. 

 (See the underground stems of Terns, 

 kc.) 



Rhizo'philus — Growing attached to roots. 



Rh:'zula — The roots emitted by the sporules 

 of Mosses, &c. 



Rhodo-leu'cos — A combination of red and 

 white. 



Rhomeipo'lius— Where the leaf is rhom- 

 boidal. Rhom'boid, Rhomboi'dal, 

 Rhombb'us, Rhombipoe'mis, Rhom- 

 boi'deus, Rhomeoida'lis— Rudely ap- 

 proximating to the form of a rhomboid; 

 that is to say, to a quadrangular figure 

 (not a square) whose sides are equal. 

 (See the foliage of a strong healthy 

 plant of the Sida weed). 



Rhynchos'poeus — Where a fruit termi- 

 nates in an elongated projection. (See 

 nuts of Rhynchospora aurea, a common 

 sedge.) 



RiG'ii), Ri'gidus — Stiff, with slight or no 

 flexibility, as the American Aloe leaves. 



Ri'ma — A cleft ; an ostiolum which has the 

 appearance of a small cleft or chink. 

 Rima'tds, RimoJsus — Full of clefts ; 

 where the surface is covered with 

 cracks or fissures. 



Ri'MiFOEM — Having a longitudinal chink or 

 furrow. 



B.IN GENT, Rin'gens— Grinning. A bila- 

 biate corolla whose lips are widely 

 separated. 

 Ri'pis, or Rhi'pis, Khi'pidos— A fan. 



(See Polyvorus rhipidium.) 

 Rivula'eis— Either growing in water- 

 courses or on their banks. 

 ROOKEEY.— There is no necessity for an 

 explanation of this term ; but a few 

 words as to construction may be given. 

 In this artificial arrangement of stone- 

 work, consideration must be paid to 

 the class of plants it is intended to 

 hold. The site chosen should always 

 he sheltered from winds. It should be 

 as simple as possible, free from the 

 drip of trees. The rock of which it is 

 constructed should be of a porous 

 character. The size of the interstices 

 left for the reception of plants depends 

 also upon the kinds it is intended to 

 grow ; a sandy peaty soil is best for 

 filling up between the rocks, and some 

 of these latter should be large enough 

 to afltord shade to small shade-loving 

 plants. Every portion must be well- 

 drainedj for, though plants may revel 

 in moisture overhead at certain 

 seasons, they, with but very few ex- 

 ceptions, will not live with stagnant 

 water at their roots. 

 Root — The root, or descending axis, is that 

 part of a plant which grows down- 

 wards from the stem, divides and 

 spreads in the earth or water, and ab- 

 sorbs food through the extremities of 

 its branches. They ordinarily produce 

 neither buds, leaves, nor flowers. Their 

 branches, called fibres, ^hen slender 

 and long, proceed irregularly from any 

 part of their surface. Although roots 

 proceed usually from the base of the 

 stem or stock, they may also be pro- 

 duced from the base of any, especially 

 if the bfid lie along the ground, or is 

 otherwise placed by nature or art in 

 circumstances favourable for their 

 development, or, indeed, occasionally 

 from almost any part of the plant. 

 They are then often distinguished 

 as adventitious, but this term is by some 

 applied to all roots which are not in 

 prolongation of the original radicle. 

 Roots are fibrous when they consist 

 chiefly of slender fibres ; tuberous, when 

 either the main root or its branches are 

 thickened into one or more short fleshy 

 or woody nn^sses called tubers; tap- 

 roots, when the main root descends 

 perpendicularly into the ^arth, emit- 

 ting only very small fibrous branches. 

 The stocks of a herbaceous perennial, 

 or the lower parts of the stem of an 

 annual or perennial, or the lowest 

 branches of a plant, are sometimes 

 under ground and assume the appear- 

 ance of roots ; such, however, are called 

 rhizomes, and may always be distin- 

 guished from the true root by the 

 ^ presence or production of one or more 

 buds, or leaves, or scales. Although 

 the root is constructed generally on the 

 same plan as the stem, yet the regular 



