ORGANS OF GROWTH. 



21 



berry, and lilac ; they vary from a few inches to 10 or 

 more feet in height. But under certain conditions some 

 trees become shrubs, and many shrubs assume the cha- 

 racter of small trees. 



Fruticuls. — A term generally applied to small shrubs 

 with soft-wooded stems, such as the greater part of 

 Acanthus^ many of the Gloxinia and Asclepias families, 

 also shrubby begonias, peppers, geraniums, crassulas, fig 

 marigold, &c. 



Ampelids (climbers, generally called vines). — This 

 term designates slender stems that trail on or near 

 the ground, as bramble ; or climb up trees to which they 

 hold by different kinds of appendages, such as hooked 

 spines, as in roses and climbing palms, — thread-like 

 claws or spiral coils (tendrils), as in the vine, trumpet and 

 passion flowers, — or twisted leafstalks, as in Virgin's 

 bower and the Indian pitcher plant. 



Twiners. — This is applied to plants that support them- 

 selves by twining round others, forming a firm spiral 

 coil, in many instances reaching to the tops of lofty trees, 

 as woodbine, periploca, Chinese wistari a, as also the 

 herbaceous stems of bindweed, hop, and scarlet-runner. 

 The direction of the ascending spire is in most plants 

 from left to right, but in the scarlet-runner it is from 

 right to left. 



dingers (rooting stems). — This applies to woody 

 stems that trail on the ground or ascend trees, to which 

 they adhere by numerous roots produced from their whole 

 under surface, as ivy, Bignonia radicans, numerous kinds 

 of tropical figs, and the New Zealand climbing myrtles. 

 Although these hold firmly to trees, they nevertheless 

 retain their root connexion with the ground, which dis- 

 tinguishes them from an extensive race of plants that 



