244 



The Journal of Heredity 



Mexico, where it is known by the name This ear was of a Pawnee Indian va- 

 Quaclii, a native word meaning twins' riety and like so many Indian varieties 

 (Figure 4). This style of branching had eight rows of seeds while the plants 

 also is inherited but owing to the ex- grown from it produced many suckers 

 tremely long season required for the or tillers. Seeds from the original 

 growth of the variety producing it no normal ear were planted and produced 

 accurate analysis has been possible, thirty-eight normal plants. Of these. 

 Seeds from the original open-pollinated five were hand-pollinated. A self-pol- 

 ears were planted in southern Florida linated ear from one of these five was 

 and while the growth was unsatisfac- planted the following season and 

 tory the nubbins produced ranged from eighty-eight plants were raised. Three 

 normal unbranched cobs to those with of these plants produced branched ears 

 as many as four branches of equal size, of varying degree. The most extreme- 

 Recognized Mendelian ratios were not ly branched ear had eleven branches, 

 obtained and in any event, owing to the all four-rowed, in addition to the cen- 

 open-pollination of the parental ears tral eight-rowed spike. This ear is 

 the ratios could have little genetic sig- shown in the Frontispiece, and its pedi- 

 nificance. gree is given in Figure 5. Only the 



A fourth form of branching which upper ear of the plant was branched 



is of rather common occurrence espe- but two ears borne on tillers were bi- 



cially in varieties of sweet corn, is a furcated at the tip. 



branch, or more rarely two or more As the pedigree shows, there have 

 branches, at the base of the ear inside been four generations of self-pollin- 

 the innermost husk (Figure 3). This ated, branched ears and as yet no prog- 

 branch is itself enclosed in several enies breeding true for branched ears 

 husks and has the form of a normal have been obtained. This behavior 

 ear. usually with more than four rows is in marked contrast with that of the 

 and very rarely with well-developed ramose type of branched ear or even 

 seeds. The inheritance of this type that of the bearsfoot or fasciated form, 

 of branching, though as yet not tested The amount of branching varies, 

 in great detail, seems very similar to though never approaching the ramose 

 that of the fifth form to be discussed. form but not infrequently the upper 



The fifth form of branching consists ear will bear one or more branches and 



of from one to many four-rowed the lower none. The tendency for the 



branches at the base of the ear, usually upper ear to be more branched than 



with fully-developed seeds. These the lower one is a curious phenomenon 



branches are naked but are enclosed in in view of the nature of the abnor- 



the husks which envelop the ear (Front- mality. Thus the lower ears would be 



is])iece). It is with this type of branched expected to approach suckers more 



ear that the present paper deals, and nearly than would the upper ears and 



for which the designation "branched 

 ear" is proj^osed 



Origin of "Branched Ears" 



if there are to be dififerences between 



them in the amount of branching the 



lower ears should have more rather 



than fewer branches than upper ears. 



In growing a large block of inbred This tendency for lower ears to have 



varieties we have had the good fortune fewer branches than upper ears has 



to self-pollinate an ear showing this been observed in the case of interme- 



latter type of branching. The original diate ramose inflorescences and mav be 



ear from which this variation descend- 

 ed was received from Melvin R. Gil- 

 more, Curator of the Museum of the 

 Nebraska State Historical Society. 



attributed to differences in metabolism. 

 It is well known that the upper ear o<" 

 multiple-eared ])lants, usually is the 

 heaviest and as it precedes the lower 



'Collins, G. N. and C. B. Doyle. 

 March, imi. Pp. :{01-.'}20. Illus. 



Notes on Southern Mexico. Nat'l. Gcog. Mag. 



