56 Plants and their Ways in South Africa 



Fig. 155. — Zea mays is monoecious, i.e. the 

 staminate and pistillate flowers are on the 

 same plant. The staminate flowers form 

 the ' ' tassel " at the top, the pistillate form 

 the "ears ". 



Other flowers; these give 

 promise of becoming 

 pumpkins, or Kafir water- 

 melons or calabashes, ac- 

 cording to the plant. 



Are the two kinds of 

 flowers on the same or on 

 difl'erent plants ? Do they 

 open again after closing ? 

 What time of day do they 

 open? 



Zea mays, or Maize, is 

 shown in Fig. 155. At 

 the top of the stalk the 

 "tassel " is composed of 

 staminate flowers. Two 

 flowers are in each cluster 

 protected by two glumes 

 each. When ripe, the 

 long slender filaments 

 hang out and dangle 

 their anthers in the wind. 

 Where large fields of 

 Indian Corn are growing 

 the air is heavy with 

 pollen which they shed. 

 You will find no pistil in 

 these flowers. Pistils pro- 

 duce the seed, and we do 

 not look for seed in the 

 tassels. Down below, if 

 all goes well, seeds will 

 ripen in the "ears". 

 Notice the long silks at 

 the top of the ears. Turn 

 back the large bracts 

 (husks), and trace some 

 of the silks to the kernel 

 of grain. Each grain is 

 an ovary containing a 

 single seed, and partly 



