46 



THE PHENOMENON OF 



flower until it has attained an age of full thirty years ; so 

 that the number of necessary strengthening generations 

 is considerable here. When the bearing age is attained, 

 the flower appears in the blossoming generation as the 

 third axial system, since it arises out of the axil of the 

 winglike first leaf of the lateral buds. 



The relations of the strengthening generations are 

 much more complicated in the vine. The germinating 

 vine produces first two small leaf-Hke cotyledons, and 

 then a weak, upright shoot, scarcely a span high, with seven 

 to ten, seldom more, euphyllary leaves, which are arranged 

 spirally according to the |- or |- order, It is pro- 

 bable that a weak tendril-formation occurs at the summits 

 of vigorous seedlings, and beyond this an apparently di- 

 rect continuation from the uppermost euphyllary leaf, as 

 we are enabled to make out more clearly on the shoots of 

 the succeeding year ; but the whole of this uppermost por- 

 tion acquires, in any case, but a very slight development, 

 and dies at the top as the winter comes on.* This first 

 main-sprout of the seedling forms the basis of the so-called 

 head {ceps, in French), from which arise the climbing 

 shoots {Beb-schosse) , following in the second year; but 

 these are produced through a peculiar agency. In the 

 axils of the euphyllary leaves, namely, (nay even of the 

 cotyledons,) buds are formed, on which we find, first a 

 cataphyllary leaf, then a euphyllary leaf, and the trace of 

 a tendril, which latter organs, as well as those following 

 further on, are mostly very stunted in their development, 

 or even wither up before fully unfolded, while a new bud 

 is formed in the axil of the cataphyllary leaf, which be- 

 comes more swollen than the chief bud, and is protected 

 by its own two cataphyllary leaves (bud-scales). In this 



* Unfortunately I have no seedlings of the vine at disposal at present. 

 On those formerlv observed I noticed no formation of tendrils, but Lave seen 

 this in the radical sprouts (suckers), *hich behave just like the seedlings in 

 the arrangement of the leaves and other respects. The statements as to the 

 conditions of the lateral axes of the first and second year are also derived 

 from the latter. (The sujiposition mentioned above was not confirmed by 

 later observation. See author's preface, Trans.) 



