Now, when a stem like that of the rose is divided into three well-defined parts,—the skin, or bark, outside; next the woody part; and the soft white pith in the middle,—then you can be pretty sure that the plant had more than one seed leaf.
Fig. 126
This picture (Fig. [126]) shows you a section of a cornstalk. Here you do not see the three parts that were so plain in the rose stem, for the woody part is not gathered together in a ring: it is scattered through the soft part, so that you cannot distinguish the one from the other.
Running lengthwise you see the scattered bundles of woody threads, the cut ends of which give the dotted look on top.
Now, such a stem as this of the corn shows you that the plant was born with only one seed leaf.
Try to remember the difference between these two stems.
This next picture (Fig. [127]) shows a part of the trunk or stem of the fir tree.
Fig. 127