Do Not Judge A Plant By Their Leaves
Plants vary as much below ground as they do above. If someone asked for lily-of-the-valley blossoms from our gardens in the spring, we would know exactly which blossoms to cut. One day when lilies-of-the-valley were dormant a woman called to tell me that her daughter wanted some of her plants. “What do I do?” she asked.
For a moment I couldn’t say a word. “Take a spade and dig them!” seemed the obvious answer but there was surely more that she wanted to know. I concluded she had no idea what to look for, so described the root system of this plant. If someone asked for a plant, would you know what to look for if the roots were in a bed of mixed varieties of dormant plants?
Does lily-of-the-valley have a bulb like a true lily? Fibrous roots like a phlox? A corm like a crocus? A tap root like a dandelion? Fleshy roots like mertensia? Creeping rootstocks like Solomon’s seal?
Vines climb – we can see that. But I wonder how many of us have ever noted by what methods they climb and in what direction the twiners go around their supports. I had never thought there was any ordered plan for this but when my eyes were opened to observe these things I was astounded at what there was to be learned about climbing plants and their habits. Try to make a morning-glory vine twine clockwise or to the right. Note how equally stubborn a honeysuckle vine is if you try to make it twine counter-clockwise or to the left.
The clematis climbs by hooking its leaves over the support and giving their stems a twist. The trumpet vine sends out adventitious roots to hold its branches to its support. Grape vines hold tightly with tendrils that wind round and round like spiral springs. Cobaea scandens, the cathedral bells vine, also has tendrils, but note how they appear to take the place of terminal leaflets.
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