18 



ELEMENTS OF BOTANY. 



spikes, racemes, or panicles ; flowers in spikelets consisting 

 of 2-ranked imbricated scales or glumes, the two lower usually 

 empty, the others subtending the flower which is enclosed in 

 a scale-like palet ; the upper flower in the spikelet often 

 staminate or only an empty palet, or even an abortive pedicel ; 

 flowers perfect or monoecious, rarely dioecious ; stamens 1-6, 

 usually 3 ; ovule 1 ; styles 1-3, 

 usually 2 ; seed a caryopsis or 

 grain. 



A large family, of which there 

 are more than 800 species in the 

 United States, including corn, 

 wheat, rye, oats, rice, sorghum, 

 sugar cane, and many other culti- 



FiG. 210. — Diagram of Inflo- 

 rescence of a Grass. 



g, sterile glumes ; Py, a flower- 

 ing glume ; P^, a scaly bract 

 (palet); e, transparent scales 

 (lodicules) at the base of the 

 flower ; B, the flower. 



Fig. 211. — Fescue-Grass {Festuca 



pratensis). 



A, spikelet (compare Fig. 210) ; B, a 



flower, the lodicules in fi'ont and the 



palea behintl ; C, a lodicule ; 1), ovary. 



vated sorts. The cane, Arundinaria iiiacrosperma^ is the only 

 tree-like species found in this country. 



[The identification of the species is too difficult for the beginner, but 

 the structure of the spikelets and the separate flowers may be learned by 

 a study of Figs. 210, 211.] 



