60 
STEM. 
The stem with respect to its direction , or mode of growth , is 
Perpendicular, or erect, forming a right angle with the ground, as the 
Procumbent , lying down ; [Pink ; 
Oblique, when it is neither perpendicular nor horizontal ; 
Creeping, as one species of Ranunculus ; 
Reclining, curved towards the ground as the Blackberry. 
Radical, clinging to some other body for support, by means of fibres which 
do not imbibe nourishment; as the common Creeper ; 
Climbing, either with spiral tendrils for its support, as the Vine, or by 
adhesive fibres ; 
Twining, winding in a spiral manner around other plants, as the Hop ; 
Trailing, a creeping stem destitute of flowers, thrown out from the root 
and giving rise to another plant where it takes root, as the Strawberry. 
Stems as to shape , are, 
Terete or cylindrical, long and round ; as in the rose and lilac, and in 
most of the woody and herbaceous plants ; 
Compressed, more or less flattened on the sides ; 
Anceps, two edged; 
Triangular, three edged ; 
Quadrangular, square, or four sided ; 
Pentagonous, five sided. If the number of angles is either variable, or 
more than five, the stem is said to be angulosus, or angled. 
The surface of the stem may be, 
Glabrous, smooth, destitute of hairs or glands ; 
Polished, the surface equal and smooth; 
Pubescent, covered with hair, or glands resembling hairs ; 
Villose, shaggy, covered with long soft hairs ; 
Pilose, hairs long and distinct ; 
Tomentose, hairs short and closely matted together, like cotton or down ; 
Hispid, bristly, hairs stiff ; 
Scaly, covered with membranous scales ; 
Imbricated, stem concealed by leaves, which sit close like shingles on the 
roof of a house ; 
Viscid, covered with a clammy juice ; 
Papillose, covered with soft points or tubercles ; 
Scabrous, rough to the touch ; 
Hoary, as if frosted ; 
Mealy , (glaucus,) of a sea green mealiness, which easily rubs off ; 
Striated, marked with parallel longitudinal lines. 
The Stem, with respect to Divisions and Composition. 
The stem is either simple , or divided into branches. The 
branches are parts of the plant which proceed immediately from 
the trunk ; the divisions of the branches are called branchlets ; 
a diminutive appellation, which means a little branch. These 
parts resemble, in their formation, the trunk or stem, which fur- 
nishes them ; the branch may be considered as a tree, implanted 
upon another tree of the same species. 
Stems with respect to hardness — Direction — Shape — Surface — Divisions 
— Bulb-bearing stems — 
