16 



DOMESTIC BOTANY. 



In the division of plants to which Palms, Aloes, 

 Asparagus, and the Orchis and Arum families belong, 

 they are generally thick and fleshy, retaining their nearly 

 uniform thickness throughout, like cord. More than a 

 dozen terms are used to distinguish the difierent kinds 

 of roots, but it is only necessary to mention the prin- 

 cipal — Yiz., Jiliform or fibrous, which includes all slender 

 thread-like roots ; long, thick, and rope-like, as rhubarb ; 

 fusiform and conical being applied to such as radish, 

 parsnip, &c., which are tap-roots, covered with a fleshy 

 substance, the efiects of cultivation. Many similar 

 kinds of fleshy bodies grow not only under, but on the 

 surface of the ground, to which they are attached by 

 true roots, thus imparting to them the nature of stems, 

 such as turnip and beetroot. In general, they are called 

 hulhous and tuberous roots, which terras are indifferently 

 applied to all such bodies, but the difference between a 

 bulb and tuber has not been well defined, I therefore 

 restrict the term to distinct groups of plants, which with 

 other root growth I classify as follows under the head of 



Root-stock Stems. 



These comprehend all plants called herbs, known by 

 their leaves and flowers being produced yearly from 

 underground surface buds; or from solid fleshy bodies 

 that seldom rise much above the surface of the ground. 



Note. — All words compounded of corm or caul (from 

 Gk. kormos, Lat. caulis, a stem) have reference to a 

 stem of some kind ; the word caudex is also a name for 

 stem. Words compounded of rhim refer to some kind 

 of root. 



Gemmcecorms (bud-corms) include the greater number 

 of plants known as herbaceous, biennial, and perennial. 



