of so long duration, in
the growth of the embryo between the time of its perfect development
within the seed and the moment of germination, is one of the
remarkable and distinctive features of the life of Spermatophytes. The
aim of germination is the fixing of the embryo in the soil, effected
usually by means of the root, which is the first part of the embryo
to appear, in preparation for the elongation of the epicotyledonary
portion of the shoot, and there is infinite variety in the details
of the process. In albuminous Dicotyledons the cotyledons act as the
absorbents of the reserve-food of the seed and are commonly brought
above ground (_epigeal_), either withdrawn from the seed-coat or
carrying it upon them, and then they serve as the first green organs
of the plant. The part of the stem below the cotyledons (_hypocotyl_)
commonly plays the greater part in bringing this about. Exalbuminous
Dicotyledons usually store reserve-food in their cotyledons, which
may in germination remain below ground (_hypogeal_). In albuminous
Monocotyledons the cotyledon itself, probably in consequence of its
terminal position, is commonly the agent by which the embryo is thrust
out of the seed, and it may function solely as a feeder, its extremity
developing as a sucker through which the endosperm is absorbed, or
it may become the first green organ, the terminal sucker dropping
off with the seed-coat when the endosperm is exhausted. Exalbuminous
Monocotyledons are either hydrophytes or strongly hygrophilous plants
and have often peculiar features in germination.

[v.02 p.0013]

_Vegetative reproduction._

Distribution by seed appears to satisfy so well the requirements of
Angiosperms that distribution by vegetative buds is only an occasional
process. At the same time every bud on a shoot has the capacity
to form a new plant if placed in suitable conditions, as the
horticultural practice of propagation by cuttings shows; in nature we
see plants spreading by the rooting of their shoots, and buds we know
may be freely formed not only on stems but on leaves and on roots.
Where detachable buds are produced, which can be transported through
the air to a distance, each of them is an incipient shoot which may
have a root, and there is always reserve-food stored in some part of
it. In essentials such a bud resembles a seed. A relation between
such vegetative distribution buds and production of flower is usually
marked. Where there is free