Frederick J. Tyler.
The underground parts of plants are often of value as a means of characterization, and if the plant is a weed they become of the greatest importance; as the worst weeds are almost invariably geophytes. Very little information is given in most of the manuals upon this subject, and what is given is not always satisfactory.
Figure 1.
The terms used in describing geophytes are in every day use, except one—the crown. This term is applied to an herbaceous perennial which has but one upright stalk the first year. This dies to the surface of the ground at the end of the season, but the short, upright, underground stem survives. It then sends up lateral branches, which in some cases grow out several feet, in others only an inch or so before coming to the surface. This branching, however, usually takes place in the Autumn and often the entire crown of lateral branches is formed some time before the parent plant is cut down by frost.
The following notes, and others, to be given later, are intended to supplement the notes on Geophilous Plants of Ohio in the O. S. U. Naturalist, 1:21:
Hypericum ascyron L. A large woody root, surmounted by a close crown.
Gentiana andrewsii Griseb. An oblique rhizome, about 2 in. long, with numerous fleshy roots showing root contraction.
Corallorhiza odontorhiza (Willd.) Nutt. A small bulb, sending out the coralloid roots from the base.
Lespedeza frutescens (L.) Britton. A long woody tap root, surmounted by a close crown.