58 
STEMS AND STALES. 
1. Scape, a stalk springing from the 
root, which bears the flower and 
fruit, but not the leaves ; as the 
Dandelion, the Cowslip, and the 
Lily of the Valley, (a a Fig. 5.) 
Plants with scapes are sometimes 
called stemless plants; in this case, 
the scape would be considered as 
a peduncle proceeding from the 
root. 
4th. Peduncle , or flower stalk, springs from the principal stem, 
it bears the flower and fruit, but not the leaves ; when the 
peduncle is divided, each subdivision is called a pedicel.* 
The peduncle, or flower stalk, is, 
Cauline, when it grows immediately out of the main stem ; 
Rameous , or branching, when it grows out of a main branch ; 
Axillary, growing between a leaf and stem, or between a branch and stem ; 
Terminal, when it terminates a stem or branch ; 
Lateral, when situated on the side of a stem or branch ; 
Uni-flora, bearing one flower ; bi-flora, two flowers ; tri-flora, three flowers ; 
Multiflora, bearing many flowers. 
When there is no peduncle or flower stalk, the flowers are 
said to be sessile. 
5th. Petiole. The petiole or leaf stalk, is a kind of stem, like a 
fulcrum, supporting the leaf ; it is usually green, like the 
leaf, and appears to be a part of the leaf itself. The pet- 
iole of many plants is somewhat in the form of a cylinder ; 
but the upper surface is rather flattened, the under surface 
convex. You will find this remark useful, in distinguishing 
the foot-stalks of compound leaves, from young branches, 
with which they are sometimes confounded. In most cases, 
the leaves and flowers are supported by distinct foot-stalks, 
but sometimes the foot-stalk supports both the leaf and 
flower. 
The petiole may be, 
Terete, round, as in the Holly-hock ; 
Semi-Terete, half round, as in the Yellow water-lily; 
Compressed, flattened, as the Poplar ; 
Alated, winged, or furnished on each side with a leafy appendage ; 
Cirriferus, having tendrils, as the Pea ; 
Climbing, performing the office of a tendril, as the Clematis rirginica. 
The Petiole is often, in examining different species of plants, 
* In determining the species of plants, we often consider the length of the 
peduncle, compared with the flower : as whether the peduncles are longer 
or shorter. 
Scape — Peduncle — Petiole — 
