190 
I 
FIRST BOOK. 
tlowers and seeds. This is what causes the roots of the carrot, beet, 
and cassava to grow thick. Roots like the roots of the cassava are 
called tuheroics roots. 
Most roots are hidden in the ground. But in some plants roots 
start from the joints of the stem, and grow wholly or partly in the 
air ; as in the corn, screw-pine, five-finger, and some of the palms. 
Uses. — Roots keep the plant firmly in its place, and they also 
take up food for it. 
STEMS AND SHOOTS.-^I. (p. 78). 
Stems a,ncl Roots-— Stems grow from buds ; and they bear 
buds, from which leaves, flowers, or branches grow. Roots never 
have buds. 
Uses. — Stems support the leaves and flowers, and by the stem 
the food is carried from one part of the plant to another. 
Kinds of Stems. — Some grow above ground in the light and 
air. These either die down after the plant has fruited, or they grow 
woody, and last for several years. Some plants, e.g. the strawberry, 
send stems, called runners., along the ground. Others, like the 
bamboo, the banana, yams, and cocoes, have stems as well as roots 
underground. From these green shoots sprout upwards to the air. 
Others again have very short stems surrounded by layers of leaves, 
forming hidhs. 
STEMS AND SHOOTS.— II. (p. 82). 
Forms of Stems. — Stems are of many forms. We have: 
(1) Upright, and woody stems; as in trees. 
(2) Climbers', which climb by tendrils (as in the English pea), or 
by small roots (as in the five-finger). 
(3) Twiners ; which coil or wind around supports, as yams. 
(4) Runners ; as in the strawberry. 
(5) Rhizomes, or root-stocks; as in the banana. 
(6) Tubers ; as in yams, cocoes, and the Irish potato. 
(7) Bulbs', as in the onion, which has a very short stem covered 
with thick fleshy scales. 
Rhizomes, tubers, and bulbs are underground stems. 
