150 



THE SMALL GRAINS 



The ligule is short, membranous, somewhat rounded and 

 glabrous, with usually extremely short sparse hairs at 

 the exterior edge, on the blade. The auricles are narrow 

 white, membranous ; withering and falling away before 

 maturity or wanting ; sometimes ciliated. 



Koernicke and Werner (1885 2 : 571) report the average 

 number of leaves to a culm for winter rye to be 4.3 ; for 

 spring rye 3.5; and the average leaf surfaces to a culm 

 as 312 and 181 square centimeters respectively. The 

 blade is usually from 5 to 8 inches long 

 and .25 to .4 inch wide. 



140. The spikes are usually from 4 

 to 6 inches long and are rather slender. 

 When ripe they are almost square, be- 

 cause there are almost always but two 

 kernels to the spikelet. The spikes 

 are awned in all varieties, the awns 

 being flexible and usually from 1.5 to 

 2.5 inches long. On account of the 

 weight of grain and the smallness of 

 the upper culm, the spike nods or 

 droops decidedly, often causing the 



. 



flattened and is alternately notched on 

 the flattened sides. The edges formed by the flattening 

 are very hairy and there are bunches of hairs at the 

 notches. There is no terminal spikelet. 



141. Spikelets. There is a single spikelet in each 

 notch of the rachis, its broad side facing the rachis. First 

 above the articulation with the rachis, and apparently 

 sessile upon it, are the two glumes, which are small, 

 linear, tapering to a point, keeled, one-nerved and shorter 

 than the lemmas. The lemmas are next above on the 



