36 
HOW PLANTS GROW. 
mon parasitic herb, consisting of orange-colored whitish stems, looking like threads 
of yarn. These coil round the stalks of other plants, fasten themselves by little 
suckers in place of roots, and feejl upon their juices. Living as such a plant does 
by robbing other plants of their prepared food, it has no leaves of its own, except 
little scales in their place, and has no need of any. 
89. Shapes and Uses of Roots. Common roots, however, grow in the soil. And their 
use is to absorb moisture and other matters from the soil, and sometimes to hold 
prepared food until it is wanted for use, as was explained in 
the last section (70, 73). Those for absorbing are 
Fibrous roots , namely, slender and thread-shaped, as in Fig. 
48, 56, and generally branching. Very slender roots of the 
sort, or their branches, are called Rootlets ; and these do most 
of the absorbing. The roots of annuals are mostly fibrous, as 
they have nothing to do but to absorb; and so are the smaller 
branches of the roots of shrubs, trees, and other plants. 
Fleshy roots are those of herbs which form a thick and stout 
body, from having much nourishment deposited in them. They 
belong particularly to biennial herbs (69), and to many pe¬ 
rennials (73). Some sorts have names according to their 
shapes. The root is a 
Tap-root , when of one main body, and tapering downwards 
to a point; as that of a Carrot (Fig. 71), and of a seedling 
Oak (Fig. 41). And a tap-root is 
Conical , when stout, and tapering gradually from the upper 
end to a point below ; as a carrot (Fig. 71), parsnip, or beet. 
Spindle-shaped, when thicker in the middle, and tapering 
upwards as well as downwards, like a radish (Fig. 57) ; and 
Turnip-shaped, or Napiform, when wider than long, or with 
a suddenly tapering tip, as a turnip (Fig. 70). Roots are 
Clustered or Fascicled when, instead of one main root, there 
are several or many of about the same size; as in Indian Corn (Fig. 48), and other 
grain (Fig. 56). Here the clustered roots are fibrous, being for absorbing only. 
When such roots, or some of them, are thick and fleshy, as they are when used 
as storehouses of food, they become Tuberous. The roots of the Dahlia, for in¬ 
stance (Fig. 58), are clustered and tuberous , or tuber-like. 
