The Book of Grasses 



lacking; in such the spikelets remain closed and the stamens 

 and pistils protrude from the summit of each blossom. 



Stamens and Pistils. — The majority of our grasses bear 

 perfect flowers, consisting of stamens and pistils, although 

 some species are monoecious, as are Gama Grass and Indian 

 Corn, which bear stamens and pistils in separate flowers on 

 the same plant, and a few grasses are dioecious, as is Salt- 

 grass, whose stamen-bearing and pistil-bearing flowers are on 

 separate plants. 



There are one to six (usually three) stamens whose very slender 

 filaments bear two-celled anthers. These are lightly attached 

 near their middle to the apex of the filament, and, trembling in the 

 wind, easily discharge the smooth, round pollen cells. The 

 stamens elongate rapidly and exhibit the most rapid rate of growth 

 known in flowering plants. Although many of the pollen cells 

 must fail of their mission and be carried by the wind to fall fruit- 

 lessly upon leaves and stones, Nature provides a vast quantity 

 of pollen to ensure the fertilization of sufficient seed. It has 

 been estimated that a single anther of Rye contains no less 

 than twenty thousand pollen cells. The greater number of 

 spring grasses have larger anthers than those of midsummer, 

 but brilliant colours, ranging from pale yellow to orange and 

 crimson, and from lavender to deep purple, appear in the 

 anthers at all seasons. The one-celled, one-seeded ovary bears 

 one to three (usually two) styles whose feathery stigmas often 

 show conspicuous colour. 



Seeds. — Grass seeds are richly stored with nutriment and have 

 great vitality; they are also well adapted to wide distribution. 

 Scales adhering to the seeds buoy them so that they are easily 

 carried by the wind or along the surface of running water. The 

 seeds of a few grasses are sticky when wet and adhere to passing 

 objects. Ripened panicles of Purple Eragrostis, of Old Witch- 

 grass, and of certain other grasses are driven as tumble-weeds 

 across the fields and scatter their seeds along the way. The awns 

 of many grasses are rough, catching on passers-by and travelling 

 long distances. In high mountains, where the ripening of seed is 

 uncertain, entire spikelets are sometimes transformed into leafy 

 shoots, provided at the base with rudimentary roots, which, as 

 the spikelets fall, take root and grow. The methods which the 

 grasses have developed to ensure to new generations trans- 



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