vil] CLASSIFICATION OF SEEDLINGS 133 
SEEDLINGS. 
I. First expanded aerial leaves broad, bright green, 
with 18—24 ribs. 
Barley. 
The blade tends to twist to the left: auricles, when well de- 
veloped, long, pointed, and claw-like, embracing the glabrous sheath 
in front. Ligule long, membranous, pointed and irregularly toothed. 
The plumule emerges at the upper end of the grain, and the embryo 
has 5—6 secondary roots. 
II. First aerial leaves narrower, with not more than 
11—18 ribs. 
A. Lagule long, rounded and toothed. 
Wheat. 
The blade tends to twist to the left: auricles filiform and embrace 
the densely pubescent sheath. Leaves green. Embryo with three 
roots. 
B. Ligule short and toothed. Leaves with a reddish 
cast. 
(a) Blade and sheath softly hairy, the latter with scattered 
long hairs, the former tending to twist to the left. 
Rye. 
The first leaf-sheath purple. Auricle-claws more triangular and 
smaller than those of wheat, and the accompanying bristles are 
fewer and shorter. Embryonic roots four. 
(6) Blade and sheath glabrous or merely ciliate or silky, 
the former tending to twist to the right. 
Oat. 
Auricles filiform. The plumule emerges above. The embryo 
has three roots. 
A curious phenomenon is observed in some grasses 
growing in high latitudes, or mountainous regions, or in 
