MONOCOTYLEDONS 1/9 



Each spikelet consists of about five distinct 

 flowers. They have no perianth, but only a glume, 

 the rib of which runs out and becomes an awn if 

 present, as represented in the figure. Within this 

 boat-shaped glume is another facing it with two 

 ribs, called the "pale." These two include three 

 stamens (left-hand figure) and a pistil of two 

 coherent carpels with feathery stigmas. In addition 

 are two minute scales apparently of no function ; 

 perhaps the rudiments of a lost perianth. 



Darnel is a cornfield weed and an annual, and 

 was believed by the ancients to be injurious, for 

 Virgil speaks of the infelix loliuni. 



The stem and foliage are not at all poisonous, 

 and often used as fodder, if at all abundant, as m 

 Malta. It is only the grain which is poisonous, 

 both to man and animals ; but by no means always, 

 for bread has been made out of it and eaten with 

 impunity. On the other hand, when the grain has 

 been ground up with wheat, notwithstanding that 

 i^ the latter had no odour or taste of any peculiar 

 kind, the bread has poisoned those who ate it. In 

 the South of France it is said that Darnel is some- 

 times actually given to restless mules, as it tends 

 to produce a comatose state ; but many disorgan- 

 izations of the digestion have occurred in cattle 

 when grain-siftings were given to them which con- 

 tained, besides Darnel, seeds of Corn-cockle and 

 other injurious plants. 



