i 
488 © WEATHERWAX: SPIKELETS OF ZEA Mays 
(TEXT-FIGS. 5, 15). This is so inconspicuous that it appears that 
many early investigators, working largely from the systematic 
_ Fic. 11. Longitudinal section of female spikelet, X 60. G, glume; L, lemma; 
P, palea; Ab, aborted flower; Si, silk; SC, stylar canal; e, embryo-sac; oi, outer in- 
tegument; 77, inner integument. 
_ standpoint, either did not suspect its presence, or looked for it 
and failed to find it. 
The female spikelet is characterized by a suppression of all the: 
essentials of the lower flower and of the stamens of the upper one. 
Lodicules are present in both flowers, but they are functionless, 
or, at least, do not serve the same purpose as in the male flower. 
The only functional organ of the female spikelet is the pistil of the 
upper flower. | 
The lodicules of both flowers of the female spikelet are, in early 
stages, like those of the male flower, but their development is 
arrested at about the same time as that of the other rudimentary 
parts. This suppression is not accompanied by disorganization, 
as in other parts, but the organs merely stop growing and are 
wholly or partly overtaken by the growth of the surrounding 
