GRASS FAMILY GRAMINEAE 
BOTTLEBRUSH GRASS 
Hystrix patula Moench 
The Grass family is economically the most import- 
ant among plants. It includes the important grains and 
food plants such as Wheat, Corn, Oats, Rye, Barley, 
Rice, Sugar Cane, Sorghum and Millet; and 
many useful plants such as Bamboo, Timothy 
and the various lawn grasses. Of the 1500 
kinds of Grass that occur in the United States 
60 are cultivated and 
about the same number 
are weeds. At least 200 
species grow wild in 
Illinois. 
The stems of most 
Grasses are hollow be- 
tween the joints and 
solid at the joints. The 
leaves are parallel vein- 
ed and in 2 rows on the 
stem. Each has2 parts, 
sheath and blade. The 
sheath envelops the 
stem, its margins over- 
lapping. Flowers are 
enclosed in scales and 
have neither sepals nor petals. In most Grasses the flower 
has 1 pistil, 3 stamens and 2 very small scales at the base 
of theovary. The fruit is a seedlike grain. Practically all 
Grasses are wind pollinated. 
The Bottlebrush Grass, which is common in open woods 
from New Brunswick to Minnesota and southwestward, and 
which blooms during June and July, is given here merely as an 
example of the family. To know the differences between our 
many kinds of Grass one will need to refer to exhaustive catalogs 
of the family or of all plants. 
All round, upon the river’s slippery edge, 
Witching to deeper calm the drowsy tide, 
Whispers and leans the breeze entangling sedge; 
An Indian Summer Reverie—JAMES RUSSELL LOWSLL 
38 
