83 



arises or these buds may remain dormant. In the latter in- 

 stance the whole inflorescence is a spike with a pair of bracts 

 at the base, in the former the inflorescences consist of pani- 

 culated spikes. Whatever may be the case, the last branches 

 are always spikes. The spikes begin by the formation of a 

 kind of cupula, which surrounds the whole axis. These cupulae 

 we must suppose owe their origin to a concrescence of bracts. 

 When young, the bracts are crowded very close together. In 

 fig. 1. PI. II, we see such a young, uubranched inflorescence. 

 It begins with the two wedgeshaped bracts, the one of which 

 is turned away from us, so that in the drawing it is not 

 visible. Immediately above it the first cupula is seen, it sur- 

 rounds with its upper border the base of the next younger 

 one and so do all the others except the terminal one, of course. 

 Thus we notice the presence of six cupulae, all crowded very 

 much together. Very soon after, a stretching of the difi'erent 

 internodes takes place by which the spike is pushed upwards 

 away from the wedgeshaped bracts (fig. 2. PL II). The buds in the 

 axillae of the latter may now develop, by which process a pan- 

 nicule arises, or they may not, in which case the inflorescence 

 remains a spike. The stretching of the internodes besides cau- 

 sing the pushing upwards of the spike has also increased the 

 distance between the nodes of the spike itself, thus giving the 

 inflorescence an opportunity to put itself, by curvature of the 

 lower internodes, perpendicular to the almost horizontal branches 

 of the tree (fig. 2. PI. II). After the internodes of the spikes 

 have been pushed apart the different cupulae off'er the appea- 

 rance of a number of heads strung on the central axis. It is 

 now seen that above each cupula a kind of yellowish cushion 

 appears. This proves to consist of a large number of paraphysa- 

 like hairs which are planted on a ringwall present in the 

 axilla of every cupula. Above the yellow cushion and placed 

 on the top of the ringwall a number of small, coneshaped 

 greenish bodies are seen; it are the female flowers. 



A quiet regular growth is following this stage for a while; 

 by it all the young flowers profit at about the same rate so 



