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 



Fie. 37. Stem of "Smilax" (Myrsiphyllum). 



I, scale-like leaves ; d, cladophyll, or leaf-like branch, growing in the axil 

 of the leaf; ped, iiower-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. 



