74 



OUTLINES OF PLANT LIFE. 



buds, the plant will have a central axis, from the sides of 

 which distinctly smaller branches arise. If, however, the 

 lateral buds are almost or quite as strong as the central one, 

 the plant seems to be broken up into branches, and, after it 

 has attained its mature form, no one can 

 be pointed out as the main axis.* Such 

 branching is monopodial (see ^ 58). 

 These two types of monopodial branch- 

 ing and the sympodial type are all illus- 

 trated in the forms attained by common 

 forest trees. (See frontispiece.) 



90. Inflorescence. — Especially profuse 

 branching commonly occurs in the parts 

 of the seed plants where flowers are pro- 

 duced. Such clusters of branches bearing 

 flowers constitute an inflorescence. Each 

 sort has received a special name which 

 indicates the type of branching, and also 

 the relative length of the branches, f 



91. Lateral buds. — Lateral buds are 

 ordinarily formed in definite relation to 

 the leaves. They stand usually in the 

 upper angle formed by the leaf with the 

 stem. This angle is the axil of the leaf, 

 and such buds are said to be axillary 

 (fig. 60). Ordinarily a single bud arises 

 in the axil of each leaf Its origin is 

 always later than that of the leaf-rudi- 

 ment (fig. 58). 



There are many cases in which the lateral buds are not 



Fig. 5g.— Shoot of Euro- 

 pean linden. /, the last 

 intemode formed by the 

 bud of present season. 

 This dies and drops off 

 and the shoot will be 

 formed next year by the 

 last auxiliary bud, a, 

 which appears to be ter- 

 minal after loss of t. 

 Half natural size — Af- 

 ter Frank. 



* The obscurity is greatly increased by the death of more branches than 

 survive, ov^ing to various causes resulting in poor nutrition or disease. 



■f For these names and further discussion see Gray: "Structural Bot- 

 any," p. 144; Goebel: " Outlines of Classification, p. 407. 



