ENDOGENOUS OR MONOCOTYLEDONOUS STEM. 69 



In Palms, there is in general no provision for lateral buds, and no 

 branches are formed. Hence, destroying the central bud will kill the 

 tree. In some Palms, however, as the Doum palm of Egypt {Hy- 

 phcene thebaica), the stem divides in a forked or dichotomous (5/;^a, 

 two ways, and ri/jiinn, to cut) manner. Gardner, in his travels in 

 Brazil, noticed a Palm in which the central bud having been de- 

 stroyed, two side ones had been produced, so as to give it a forked 

 appearance. Other plants with endogenous stems also produce lateral 

 buds. In fig. 134, 2, there is a representation of such a stem, iu the 

 case of the Screw-pine (Pandanus odoratissimus), and examples are 

 seen in Grasses as the Bamboo, in Asparagus, Oordyline, and 

 Dracaena. In these cases the stem is more or less tapering, Kke 

 that of Exogens, and the destruction of the terminal bud is not neces- 

 sarily followed by the death of the plant. The development of 

 lateral buds is often accompanied by an increased diameter of the stem. 

 The famous Dracaena Draco, or Dragon tree of Orotava, in the Canary 

 Islands, had a hollow stem capable of holding several men ; and the 

 fact of its living in this state is marked by Jussieu as an argument 

 against the strict endogenous formation ; for, if the centre were the 

 youngest and newest part, its destruction would put an end to the 

 existence of the tree in the same way as the removal of the outer 

 part of the wood would destroy an exogenous stem. Professor Piazzi 

 Smyth remarked that this famous Dragon tree was covered on the out- 

 side with root-like fibres, which descended from the branches to the 

 ground. The tree is now destroyed. The branches in such plants are 

 formed on the same principle as the stems ; but their fibres do not 

 proceed to the centre of the stem, but extend outside the pre-existing 

 bundles, between them and the outer false bark (fig. 132, I e), and 

 thus give rise to lateral increase. In Grasses, the stem or culm is 

 usually hollow or fistular (fig. 130), in consequence of the outer part, 

 by its rapid increase, causing the rupture and ultimate disappearance 

 of the internal cellular portion. The fibres in some Grasses cross 

 from one side to the other, forming partitions, as in Bamboo, which 

 add much to the strength of the stem. 



When the intemodes of the caudex of a Palm are not much 

 elongated, the scars of the leaves are seen forming spirals on the stem, 

 as in the coco-nut and date. In Xanthorrhoea HastUe the same 

 arrangement is observed. In Palms, such as species of Chamsedorea, 

 the intemodes are much lengthened, and rings are seen on the stem 

 at distant intervals, showing thickened node-like joints. Some 

 Palm stems, as those of Calamus Kudentum, the common cane, are 

 very thin and slender. In many Endogenous or Monocotyledonous 

 plants the stem remains below ground, developing shoots which are 

 simple, as in Banana and Plantain, or branched, as in Asparagus. In 

 the former, the stem above ground is an herbaceous shoot, composed 



