THE GRASS FAMILY, 285 



two coherent glumes. Next are seen two very small 

 bodies just inside the flowering glume. They are 

 sometimes fringed at the top. They are called 

 lodiculcs (5, a). A few grasses, as Bamboos, have 

 three, suggesting the idea that grasses once had a 

 perianth of six leaves, of which the inner whorl of 

 three is now reduced to two lodicules. Then follow 

 three stamens with versatile anthers, as they turn and 

 swing readily, being attached to the filament at one 

 point. Lastly, i^ the* pistil (5, I), with its feathery 

 stigmas (4, 5, I), indicating probably two carpels, but 

 there is only one ovule. 



The ripe fruit, or "grain," is of the nature of an 

 achene, as the pericarp tightly invests the seed which 

 contains much endosperm (7, d). This in wheat, when 

 ground, makes flour. The embryo is found at the base 

 of the grain just under the skin (6, a, h), in which {a) 

 is the plumule and (l) the radicle end below. 



The plumule consists of overlapping rudimentary 

 leaves (7, a), which lie in a depression of the single coty- 

 ledon (c), sometimes called the scutellum in grasses, as 

 it takes the form of a little " shield." The chief use of 

 it is to secrete a ferment, by means of which it dissolves 

 the endosperm (7, d), and absorbs the nutritive matters 

 for the benefit of the plumule and roots. At {h) may 

 be seen the adventitious roots, just beneath the surface, 

 for the radicle produces no definite or permanent tap- 

 root, as in Dicotyledons. These details can be best 



