INTRODUCTION, 35 
the leaves of the sycamore or lilac, and leaving 
the stalk quite bare, like a branch stripped of its 
_ The component parts of a frond have next to 
be considered; it consists of a stalk and a leafy 
portion; the stalk, however, is generally continued 
to the leafy part, and extends to its very tip. 
nists are not agreed on the names of these 
parts; some call the whole of the stalk the « stipes,” 
others confine this term to the lower or naked part, 
which corresponds to the stalk of a vine-leaf, and 
where it enters the leaf it is called the “rachis.” : 
I have found it best to call the naked part by the | 
simple term “ stalk,” and the remainder the “ mid- 
rib”; these terms will be found of almost universal 
application, and I think that if we can achieve some- 
thing like uniformity in the names of parts a watts 
object i is gained. 
The stalk is generally clothed more or less dat 
h scales, hair or down; and the general mid- 
rib” or rachis, as well as the partial midribs, and 
the entire back of the frond, partake more or less 
of this natural clothing. In the genus Osmunda 
: a8 
