BOTANY. 67 



place by a single central and terminal bud ; occasionally lateral buds arc 

 produced, and at times the stem is hollow. The leaves are parallel-veined, 

 except in the sub-class Dictyogens, where a kind of reticulation is visible. 

 The parts of the floiver are arranged in a ternary manner, and they are 

 often petaloid, sometimes scaly or glumaceous. The ovules are contained 

 in an ovary, and are fertilized by the application of the pollen to the 

 stigma. The embryo has one cotyledon, and the germination is 

 endorhizal. 



Sub-class 1. GlumacecB. 



Flowers glumaceous, consisting of bracts or scales, which are imbricated, 

 and not arranged in true Avhorls. Leaves with parallel veins. 



Order 10. GRAiviiNEiE, the grass family. Flowers usually ? , sometimes 

 unisexual or polygamous ; one, two, or more (some occasionally abortive) 

 are attached to a common axis, and inclosed within bracts, the whole 

 together forming a locusta or spikelet. The outer imbricated bracts are 

 called glumes ; they are usually two, sometimes one, rarely wanting, and 

 often unequal. They are either awned (aristate) or awnless (muticous). 

 The bracts inclosed within the glumes are called paleas or glumellas ; they 

 immediately inclose the stamens, are usually two, the lower being simple, 

 and the upper being formed of two, united by their margins. The 

 innermost set of bracts consist of two or three hypogynous scales 

 (squamulse, glumellulae, or lodiculge), which are either distinct or 

 combined, and are sometimes wanting. Stamens hypogynous, from one to 

 six, or more ; anthers dithecal, versatile. Ovary simple ; ovule ascending, 

 anatropal ; styles, two or three, sometimes united ; stigmas feathery or 

 hairy. Fruit a caryopsis. Seed incorporated with the pericarp ; embryo 

 lenticular, lying on one side of the farinaceous albumen, near its base ; 

 endorhizal in germination. Herbaceous plants, Avith cylindrical, hollow, 

 and jointed stems, called culms ; alternate leaves, with a split sheath and a 

 membranous expansion at the junction of the petiole and blade, called a 

 ligule, the collection of flowers (locustee) being arranged in spikes, racems, 

 or panicles. 



Grasses are found in all quarters of the globe, and are said to form about 

 äV part of known plants. In tropical regions they sometimes assume the 

 appearance of trees. They generally grow in great quantity together, so 

 as to receive the name of social plants. The order has been divided into 

 numerous sections, founded on the number of flowers in a spikelet, their 

 hermaphrodite, unisexual, or polygamous nature, the number and form of 

 the difierent sets of bracts, and the nature of their fruit. 



This is one of the most important orders in the vegetable kingdom, 

 whether we regard it as supplying food for man, or herbage for animals. 

 To the former division belong the nutritious cereal grains, as wheat 

 {Triticam)^ Oats (^rena), Bsn-hy (Hbrdeicm), Rye (Secalc), H'lce {Onyza), 

 Maize {Zea), Guinea-corn and Millet {Sorghum and Paniaun) ; to the 

 latter the various pasture grasses, as Rye-grass {Lolium), Timothy-grass 



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