96 A TEXT-BOOK OF GRASSES 
(Cyperaceze). Many sedges have grass-like blades, but 
differ in having 3-ranked leaves and in having flowers 
supported by a single bract. In rushes (Juncacez) the 
essential organs of the flowers are surrounded by a small 
greenish 6-parted perianth, and the fruit consists of a 
capsule with several or many seeds. A few plants belong- 
ing to the lily family and other allied groups have grass- 
like blades, but the flowers possess a proper perianth that 
is sometimes greenish but often conspicuously colored. 
Familiar examples of plants belonging to the grass 
family are, blue-grass, timothy, redtop, wheat, rice and 
other grains, corn, sorghum, sugar-cane and bamboos. 
119. Gross anatomy.—It is assumed that the student 
is familiar with the fundamental distinction between the 
primary organs of the phanerogams. He may be reminded, 
only, that the plant consists of shoot and root, that the 
shoot consists of the stem and leaves borne upon it, and 
that the inflorescence consists of modified shoots. 
Grasses may be annual or perennial. In cooler regions 
certain annual species may germinate in the fall, live over 
winter as a small tuft and send up flower stalks the follow- 
ing spring. These are known as winter annuals. 
120. Perennial herbaceous species are mostly of two 
kinds. In the first kind a crown is formed by the per- 
sistent bases of the culms, the upper portions of which die 
back each year. The young shoots of the ensuing season 
are produced from buds arising within the sheaths They 
grow up alongside the old stems and together form a 
compact mass. Such grasses form tufts or tussocks and 
are commonly called bunch-grasses. The orchard-grass 
is a familiar example. Some authors refer to the shoots 
of bunch-grasses as being intravaginal. 
In the second kind of perennial, the new shoots arise 
