STEMS 63 
plants as the primrose and the dandelion, the stem may 
be reduced to a fraction of an inch in length. It may 
take on apparently root-like forms, as in many grasses and 
sedges, or become thickened by underground deposits of 
starch and other plant-food, as in the iris, the potato, and 
Fic. 37. Stem of ‘‘ Smilax’? (Myrsiphyllum). 
1, scale-like leaves; cl, cladophyll, or leaf-like branch, growing in the axil 
of the leaf; ped, flower-stalk, growing in the axil of a leaf. 
the crocus. Condensed forms of stem may exist above 
ground, or, on the other hand, branches may be flat and 
thin enough to imitate leaves closely. In short, the stem 
manifests great readiness in adapting itself to the most 
varied conditions of existence. 
