58 



PEACTICAL BOTANY 



55. Leaves of apparently stemless plants. Many plants have 

 a stem so short that they are commonly spoken of as stemless. 

 Most of these are perennials, such as the Iceland poppy, the 

 common plantain, the true primroses (^Primula), and the dan- 

 delion. There are also numerous biennials, such as the parsnip, 



the carrot, some 



species of wild let- 

 tuce, many evening 

 primroses QCEno- 

 thera), and other 

 plants, which form 

 a tuft of leaves close 

 to the ground the 

 first year and then 

 send up a leafy 

 stem which flowers 

 and fruits the sec- 

 ond year. Such a 



Fig. 43. Wild ginger, an apparently stemless plant 



A, the entire plant, with running rootstock ; B, top view of flower ; C, lengthwise 

 section of flower ; ?, limb of calyx ; o, ovary. Reduced 



tuft of leaves as that of the dandelion or the evening primrose 

 (Fig. 42) is called a rosette, and plants in which the appar- 

 ently stemless condition, with a cluster of radiatmg leaves, is 

 permanent are known as rosette plants. Many of these are 

 natives of alpine regions, and some, such as the century plant 

 (^Ai/uvi', Fig. 62), are found in hot, dry clunates. Quite generally 

 the shape of the leaves in rosette plants secures economy of 



