Part 42

=Sorrel=, n. A.-S. sūr, sour; a kind of plant with acid leaves.

=Sphinx=, n. In Greek mythology, a monster with the head of a woman, the wings of an eagle, and the claws of a lion; she sat on a rock and proposed a riddle to all who passed and killed those who could not guess it. The Egyptian sphinx has no wings and is not the same as the Greek monster; it is generally placed in rows in avenues leading to temples, and the largest and most famous Egyptian sphinx is the Great Sphinx near the great pyramids of Ghizeh; it held a temple between its paws.

=Spring beauties=, n. Pretty, delicate, and early spring flowers.

=Spur=, n. A pointed instrument worn on the heel to goad a horse; any sharp projection formed like a horseman’s spur.

=Stamen=, n. L. stamen, thread, string, fibre; the floral organ containing the fertilizing pollen. The stamen, like the pistil, is believed to be a modified leaf.

=Starch=, n. A substance composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, forming one of the principal elements in plants and necessary as food to animals.

=Stiffening cells=, n. The woody cells and other tough-walled cells that serve to keep the shape of a plant.

=Stigma=, n. The structure at the top of the style where the pollen is received.

=Stipules=, n. L. stipula, a stalk, stem, blade; the small, leaf-like appendages at the base of the petiole of leaves.

=Stoma=, n. From a Greek word meaning “mouth-opening”; a small opening in the skin of leaves and young stems leading to the air cavities within the plant; a breathing pore.

=Stomata=, n. The plural of “stoma.”

=Strengthening cells=, n. The cells with tough or hard walls that serve to give firmness and support to plant tissues.

=Suction=, n. L. sugere, to suck; the process of sucking.

=Sulphur=, n. A solid substance found in the earth’s crust in certain places; it is one of the constituents of protoplasm, and although occurring in it in very small quantities, it is essential.

=Sulphuric acid=, n. Oil of vitriol, a combination of hydrogen, sulphur, and oxygen. Sulphuric acid is found in the earth and in the air in very small quantities, and is the source from which plants as a rule derive their sulphur.

=Tertius=, n. L. tertius, third; the name given in this book to a suppositional plant.

=Thoreau=, n. Henry David Thoreau, an American author of the present century, wrote a number of delightful books on nature.

=Tissue=, n. L. texere, to weave; a woven fabric; the cellular fabric of plant structures.

=Tropæolum=, n. From a Greek word meaning “a turning,” hence, a turning of the enemy, a defeat; finally, the sign of a defeat, a trophy; the name of a plant, so called because of the shield-shaped leaves, many shields together suggesting trophies taken from the enemy.

=Tube cells=, n. The cells that build up the tubes of plants.

=Tuber=, n. L. tuber, a bump, swelling; a thickened portion of an underground stem. The potato is a tuber; it stores up starch for the use of the growing plant.

=Tubular corolla=, n. A tube-shaped corolla. The red honeysuckle has a tubular corolla.

=Tunic=, n. L. tunica, a tunic; the name of a garment worn by the Romans; a loose flowing robe; hence, any garment; a name given to the scaly coverings of bulbs like the onion and hyacinth.

=Tunicated=, a. Having a tunic.

=Underground stems=, n. Stems that grow beneath the surface of the earth and look more or less like roots. They can always be distinguished from roots by the presence of nodes.

=Variegated=, a. L. varius, various, agere, to make; marked with different colors.

=Veins=, n. L. vena, a blood vessel; the blood vessels or channels through which the blood flows to the heart; the stiff, thread-like tubes forming the framework of leaves, petals, sepals, etc.

=Vine=, n. L. vinea, a grape vine; a plant with a stem too long and flexible to stand alone.