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 29 ground-level canopy DHJanzen100340.jpg high resolution
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When it is uprooted, the tree-like structure of the subterranean perennial in image DHJanzen100339.jpg above is revealed. It has branches, a trunk and a crown just like a more conventional tree. Again, growing this way, its woody tissues are largely storage organs and are protected from both browsing/grazing large herbivores and desiccation during the dry winters with their strong winds (and often, lack of snow cover). Incidentally, the below-ground structures of this plant are probably very well-protected chemically against browsing herbivores, an anachronism from the time when there were large herbivores that would have dug into the upper surface of the soil at least. |
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