236 
Christine E. Burgess. 
> 
The three traces to the leaf took an oblique upward and out¬ 
ward course through the cortex, entered the petiole side by side 
and fused at a little distance from its base (Fig. VII). 
Before leaving the stem, however, the neighbouring strands 
belonging to opposite leaves were joined by a narrow horizontal 
vascular commissure which passed through the ridge formed by the 
united leaf-bases. The bud supply passed off at about the same 
level, two strands of vascular tissue becoming dissociated from the 
main cylinder of the stem immediately on either side of the median 
leaf gaps. These strands passed out as two bundles to each bud 
(Figs. VI and VII). 
Anatomy of the abnormal branch. 
Node 1 (lowest on the stem). At the lowest node two leaves 
arose opposite one another, bearing buds in their axils and united 
by a ridge round the stem on one side only. 
The vascular supply to both leaves did not arise at the same 
level. The left lateral trace to one leaf was separated from the 
main vascular cylinder just below the node. At a slightly higher 
level the median trace passed off followed by the bundles to the 
bud. No second lateral strand appeared, and the commissural 
bundle was absent. 
The bundles to the second leaf at the node arise in the following 
order on proceeding up the stem:—left lateral leaf trace, median 
trace, right lateral leaf trace and bundles to the bud. The strands 
to the leaf passed separately into the petiole. The commissural 
bundle was again absent. 
Node 2 (leaves 3 and 4). The two leaves at this node appeared 
to be at the same level but were not opposite to one another. 
Their bases were united round one side of the stem. 
The vascular tissue of the two leaves joined that of the stem 
at slightly different levels, and in both instances, showed the same 
arrangement as appeared in the upper leaf at the first node. 
Nodes 3-5 (leaves 5-7). The three succeeding leaves, five, six 
and seven, arose at intervals round the stem, each a little above 
the preceding one. The three were joined by a narrow ridge of 
tissue on the outside of the stem. They were attached somewhat 
obliquely, thus pushing the buds to one side. The structure was 
like that in leaves two, three and four, but for the fact that the 
first lateral and the median trace to each leaf joined while still in 
the stem. As before, there was no vascular supply to the ridge. 
