CHAPTER XII 



THE QUAKE-GRASS (Briza media) 



In the lane where my orchids grow, I find, 

 flourishing close beside them, an abundance of 

 the familiar quake-grass. It seems remarkable, at 

 first, that these two entirely different plants should 

 thus be existing side by side, since their structure 

 and habits are so essentially unlike that we should 

 not expect to find them in the same situation. 

 Our wonder is increased when we learn that the 

 quake-grass — like the wild orchis which I have 

 described in the previous chapter — is also a 

 modified member of the Lily family ; indeed, I may 

 go farther and say that all species of grasses are 

 degenerate lilies. As we have previously seen, 

 the wild orchis has evolved its primitive lily 

 structure until its once simple petals, stamens, and 

 ovaries have become complex and marvellously 

 adapted in their organisation for insect-fertilisa- 

 tion ; the grasses, however, have taken a contrary 

 course and have lost nearly every trace of their 

 primitive petals and those parts iwhich serve to 

 make them attractive to insects, and have now 

 become most perfect types of wind-fertilised 

 plants. 



In the hazel and other catkins, previously 

 considered, we observed that the flowers had 



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