The Vegetative Anatomy of Molinia cserulea. 57 
above the rhizome and the slight spaces below are occupied by the 
cord roots, etc., the rhizome being everywhere crowded around and 
compressed by the buds, aerial shoots, and cord roots springing 
from it. The rhizome is a sympodium, each segment of which 
turns upwards into a leafy shoot and terminates as an inflorescence 
axis. Growth of the rhizome is continued by lateral buds which 
arise in the axils of scale leaves. The phyllotaxy throughout the 
species is but in the crowding that characterises the rhizome, 
it is generally obscured through displacement of members, with the 
result that very commonly buds are found on three sides. These 
buds may arise above the rhizome, below, or laterally, and they 
develop into short rhizomes and leafy stems which come off in all 
directions : there is nothing in Molinia like the straight ranks of 
shoots characteristic of Nardus stricta. The cord roots spring 
from the same nodes as the buds. Normally the rhizomes grow 
horizontally, slightly above the soil, but well covered by their 
crowded offshoots; in some environments, however, they are 
uplifted on a mass of cord roots to a height of 20 cm. above the 
surrounding surface. 
Fig. 4. Elongation of rhizome and raising of root base. The lower stems 
are old and have lost their food reserve. Leaves removed. Nat. size. 
That the rhizome, despite its usually shortened form, retains 
the power to lengthen its internodes when necessary was shown by 
