1 62 Field, Forest, and Wayside Flowers 



tween the oat- blossom and the grain ready for 

 the harvest. The flower-cluster is green. The 

 ripe oat-cluster or "fruit" is yellow. The non- 

 botanist would find no other distinction between 

 flower and fruit. Indeed, he probably would not 

 recognize the flower as a flower nor the "fruit" 

 as a fruit. 



What looks like one grain in the oat-cluster is 

 little as one might think so two flowers, and 

 between them there is generally a little white af- 

 fair, which is the last vestige of a third (Fig. 



r ~='i-_^ 



40, a). 



The whole trio constitute a "spikelet." Most 

 grass-flowers grow thus in spikelets, which are lit- 

 tle floral households. 



Outside the oat-spikelet there are two chaffy 

 pointed green scales. 



These are the "outer" or "empty" glumes. 

 They correspond to the involucre, or circle of lit- 

 tle green scales which surrounds the whole head 

 of bloom in many clustered flowers (Fig. 40, b). 

 All grass spikelets are thus partly or wholly en- 

 closed in one or two, or sometimes more "than two 

 empty glumes. Sometimes they are so small that 

 Nature seems in fair way to abolish them alto- 

 gether. 



