that such alittle sub-tassel ear, borne opposite this spathe, 
may have attracted man to domesticate an otherwise 
earless form of primitive wild maize. The present vari- 
ability in development of this sub-tassel ear or its rudi- 
ments might be attributed to its presence in only one or 
a few of several geographical races of wild maize. It may 
have also been variable in its expression in wild maize, 
perhaps dependent on growing conditions. 
The frequent adnation of the sub-tassel spathe and its 
axillary peduncle to the rachis may be another indication 
of the important role that adnation has played in the de- 
velopment of the inflorescence and plant of maize. The 
cupule, a structure in maize associated with the attach- 
ment point of a pair of pistillate spikelets to the rachis, 
has probably been formed by a prophyll adnate to the 
rachis (Nickerson, 1954). 
LITERATURE CITED 
Anderson, Edgar, 1951. The sacred plume. 24 pp. Pioneer Hi-Bred 
Corn Co., Des Moines, lowa. 
Hiickel, EK., 1887. Gramineae—in Engler and Prantl. Die Natur- 
lichen PHanzenfamilien 2, Leipzig. 
Mangelsdorf, Paul C., 1954. New evidence on the origin and ances- 
try of maize. Amer. Antiquity 19: 409-410. 
Nickerson, N. H., 1954. Morphological analysis of the maize ear. 
Amer. Jour. of Bot. 41: 87-92. 
Weatherwax, Paul, 1916. Morphology of the flowers of Zea Mays. 
Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 43: 127-144. 
, 1925, Anomalies in maize and its relatives—II. Many-flowered 
spikelets in maize. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 52: 167-170. 
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