■4 



THE FLOWER GROWERS GUIDE. 



asters or "Michaelmas daisies," and all others with stems that perish yearly, fresh 

 growths issuing from the root stocks in the spring. 



Bulbous Plants (Fig. 5 and page 9). — These, without exception, belong to the 



Monocotyledons, and have 



narrow, straight-veined leaves. 

 Iridacece, Liliaccce, and Amaryl- 

 lidaccm are natural orders, 

 almost entirely composed of 

 bulbous plants. Note care- 

 fully that a bulb is a shortened 

 stem, having axillary buds, 

 both stem and buds being 



covered with fleshy or tuni- 

 cated sheaths or fleshy scales. These fleshy sheaths or scales are really flattened leaf 

 stalks or petioles, utilised as stores for starch, sugar, and other surplus plant food • 

 hence in buying bulbs you are really purchasing stored-up sun energy, ready for floral 

 development. 



Tuberous Plants. — These are any plants whatever, having shortened fleshy (not 

 scaly) stems below ground (see illustrations page 9), such as potatoes, Carex tuberosa, 

 some oxalis, gloxinias, dahlias, and many others. Some plants now and then produce 

 tubers above ground, just as bulbs or bulbils are produced on the stems of some lilies 

 yEx. L. tigrium and L. hidhifcrnm). 



Ehizomatous Plants (Fig. 6) 

 are those having thick horizontal 

 stems, creeping either above or 

 below ground level, such as 

 Solomon's seal ; iris, of the so- 

 called "German" or bearded sec- 

 tion ; Saxifraga peltata, Eogersia 



Fig. C. Rhizome (Ieis). 



podophylla, and others. Ehizomes 



bear leaves on their upper surface as a rule, while tubers as a rule do not do so, 

 otherwise a rhizome is analogous to an elongated or creeping tuber. 



Trees and Shrubs. — All these are hard- wooded perennials, and trees represent for 

 us the tallest and longest-lived of all plants. Any hard-wooded plant growing more 



