36 BOTANY FOR BEGINNERS. [Ch. VI. 
seems to be expended upon the blossom and fruit. The onion, 
beet, and carrot, are biennial plants. 
133. Perennial roots live many years; among them are the 
asparagus, dandelion, and grasses, and all trees and woody plants. 
134. Climate and cultivation affect the duration of the roots 
of vegetables. Some perennial plants become annual by trans- 
planting them into cold climates: the garden nasturtion, a pe- 
rennial shrub or woody plant of South America, has become in 
our latitude an annual plant. . 
ce 
Form of Roots. a 
The shape of roots is 
different in different kinds 
of plants; the most com- 
mon form is the 
135. Branching root, 
> which is divided into ma- 
ny parts, like the branch- 
es of atree; same of these 
branches extend deep into 
the earth, while others 
creep along its surface.— 
Roots that have been torn 
up have been known to 
become branches covered with leaves, and branches buried in 
the earth have become roots, and sent out fibres or radicles.—- 
The radicles are the real roots, as they imbibe, through pores, 
the moisture and salts which the earth affords for the nourish- 
ment of the plant. : 
136. Fibrous roots consist almost 
wholly of radicles. Most of the annual 
plants, and also the grasses, have roots ot 
this kind. The fibres usually grow di- 
rectly from the bottom of the stem; by ob- 
serving them in a handful of grass, you can 
understand the description, better than by 
any drawing. 
133. What are perennial roots? 
134, What affect the duration of plants? 
135. Describe branching roots. 
186. Describe fibrous roots, 
