36 



HOW PLANTS GROW. 



mon parasitic herb, consisting of orange-color or whitish stems, looking like threads 

 of yarn. These coil round the stalks of other plants, fasten themselves by little 

 suckers in place of roots, and feed upon their juices. Living as such a plant does 

 by robbing other plants of their prepared food, it has no leaves of its own, except 

 little scales in their place, and has no need of any. 



89. Shapes and Uses of Roots. Common roots, however, grow in the soil. And their 

 use is to absorb moisture and other matters from the soil, and sometimes to hold 

 prepared food until it is wanted for use, as was explained in 

 the last section (70, 73). Those for absorbing are 



Fibrous roots, namely, slender and thread-shaped, as in Fig. 

 48, 56, and generally branching. Very slender roots of the 

 sort, or their branches, are called Rootlets ; and these do most 

 of the absorbing. The roots of annuals are mostly fibrous, as 

 they have nothing to do but to absorb ; and so are the smaller 

 branches of the roots of shrubs, trees, and other plants. 



Fleshy roots are those of herbs which form a thick and stout 

 body, from having much nourishment deposited in them. They 

 belong particularly to biennial herbs (69), and to many pe- 

 rennials (73). Some sorts have names according to their 

 shapes. The root is a ' 



Tap-root, when of one main body, and tapering downwards 

 to a point; as that of a Carrot (Fig. 71), and of a seedling 

 Oak (Fig. 41). And a tap-root is 



Conical, when stout, and tapering gradually from the upper 

 end to a point below ; as a carrot (Fig. 71), parsnip, or beet. 



Spindle-shaped, when thicker in the middle, and tapering 

 upwards as well as downwards, like a radish (Fig. 57) ; and 



Turnip-shaped, or Napiform, when wider than long, or with 

 a suddenly tapering tip, as a turnip (Fig. 70). Roots are 

 Clustered or Fascicled when, instead of one main root, there 

 are several or many of about the same size; as in Indian Corn (Fig. 48), and other 

 grain (Fig. 56). Here the clustered roots are fibrous, being for absorbing only. 

 When such roots, or some of them, are thick and fleshy, as they are when used 

 as storehouses of food, they become Tuberous. The roots of the Dahlia, for in- 

 stance (Fig. 68), are clustered and tuberous, or tuber-like. 



