MODE OF LIFE IN PERENNIALS. 
31 
76. In some perennial herbs, prostrate stems or branches 
under ground are thickened with this store of nourishment for 
their whole length, making stout Rootstocks , as they are called; as 
in Sweet Flag, Solomon’s Seal (Fig. 63), and Iris, or Flower-de- 
Luce (Fig. 64). These are perennial, and grow on a little way 
each year, dying off as much behind after a while; and the newer 
parts every year send out a new set of fibrous roots. The buds 
which rootstalks produce, and the leaves or the scales they bear, 
or the scars or rings which mark where the old leaves or scales 
have fallen or decayed away, all plainly show that rootstocks are 
forms of stem, and not roots. The large round scars on the root- 
stock of Solomon’s Seal, which give the plant its name, (from 
their looking like impressions of a seal,) are the places from 
which the stalk bearing the leaves and flowers of each season 
has fallen off in autumn. Fig. 63, a is the bud at the end, to 
make the growth above ground next spring; b is the bottom of 
the stalk of this season; c, the scar or place from which the stalk 
of last year fell; d, that of the year before; 
and e, that of two years ago. 
77. Finally, the nourishment for the next 
year’s growth may be deposited in the leaves 
themselves. Sometimes it occupies all the 
leaf, as in the Houseleek (Fig. 65) and other iS. 
fleshy plants. Here the close ranks of the 
thickened leaves are wholly above ground. 
Sometimes the deposit is all in the lower 
end of the leaf, and on the ground, or un¬ 
derneath, as in common Bulbs. Take a 
White Lily of the gardens, for example, in 
the fall, or in spring before it sends up the 
stalk of the season (Fig. 66). From the 
bottom of the bulb, roots descend into the 
soil to absorb moisture and other matters 
•from it, while, above, it sends up leaves to digest and convert these matters into 
real nourishment. As fast as it is made, this nourishment is carried down to the bot- 
3 
65 
Houseleek. 
