predominating condition, the result is a decussate ar- 
rangement which, since the spikelets are paired, actually 
appears as a double decussate condition. 
Spiral phyllotaxy, when it occurs, seems to be acci- 
dental. There are regions of the ear in which the phyllo- 
taxy ostensibly is spiral, but this is apparently the result 
of crowding, and is not the underlying or basic arrange- 
ment. This will become clearer when the number of rows 
is discussed. 
Number of Rows. The number of rows is variable. 
In the elongated region of the ear the spikelets do not 
appear to be arranged in definite rows, and the orderly 
arrangement characteristic of most maize ears is lacking. 
In the basal portion of the ears, the part covered by 
husks, the grains are arranged in rows, but the number 
is not constant. It increases rapidly toward the base. In 
one case row numbers of eight, ten, twelve and fourteen 
were counted on a single ear. There is not, however, the 
definite dropping of a pair of rows at any point, as in 
the cobs described by Weatherwax (17). At one level 
of the ear eight rows can be counted, at another (lower) 
level ten, but it is difficult to determine the points where 
pairs of rows have terminated. 
The number of rows is largely independent of the un- 
derlying arrangement of the spikelets. In one ear in 
which the number of rows increased progressively from 
eight to ten, and from ten to twelve, the underlying ar- 
rangement of the spikelets remained the same, three 
pairs of spikelets at each node. The fact that there are 
rows at all seems to be largely the consequence of crowd- 
ing. ‘The spikelets apparently are forcibly crowded into 
that arrangement which is the most efficient from the 
standpoint of utilizing space. Certainly there is no defi- 
nite underlying structure which results in the orientation 
[ 53 | 
