428 



N. E. Stevens — New Jersey Palmoxylon. 



77ie Root. 



A cross section of the root clump shows the roots closely 

 packed together with hut little space between them for some 

 distance below their insertion. The fully developed roots, that 

 is the large ones, are usually somewhat oval in section and 

 about 8 or 9""" by 5 or 6 mm in diameter. Figure 12 shows a 



Fig. 12. 









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EA 











B^^H tVr 









W^ -. 



N w ^ fl$- V*" 1 " i 









1 ** * » HB*^j*2 





^S 







1 .'^r*:^;-:-^', • »J±.$* 



'3< ■•?%!S«tS^ 





Fig. 12. Polished surface cut through root clump at right angles to the 

 roots about one inch below the region of insertion, showing marked variation 

 in the size of the closely packed and appressed roots, x 4/5. 



number of these roots as they appear in section. The stele of 

 the larger roots is about 2 mm in diameter. The numerous 

 smaller roots vary in size down to one millimeter or less in 

 diameter. It is, of course, impossible to determine in a section 

 whether any particular root arises directly from the stem or is 

 a branch of a larger root ; but it is evident from the longitu- 

 dinal sections that branching of the roots is frequent. So it 

 seems probable that a large part of the smaller roots are 

 branches of larger ones. 



Cortex. — Drabble (p. 432) divides the cortex of living palm 

 roots into four well-differentiated regions, viz. : (1) outer 

 limiting layer, (2) outer cortex, (3) inner cortex, and (1) endo- 

 dermis. These four regions are described by Drabble as 



