CALIFORNIA PLANTS IN THEIR HOMES 



feathery stigmas that serve so well for catching pollen. 

 The stigmas of the corn are the lines of little teeth that 

 extend the entire length of the styles, or silks. And so 

 the grasses get well pollinated, and produce enough seed 

 to keep up the supply of plants, and feed countless men 

 and animals besides. In our climate, some introduced 

 grasses, like wheat and corn, need artificial help, that is, 

 they must be cultivated ; 'but there are many grasses, native 

 and cultivated, that can take care of themselves very well 

 indeed. Find some of the Bermuda grass that infests the 

 lawns, and see why it spreads so fast. What helps to scat- 

 ter the foxtail grass and the wild oats ? Notice the bristles 

 of these grasses ; run them up and down between your 

 fingers ; can you see the use of the little barbs on them ? 

 Put a long bristle of the wild oats in water, then take it 

 out and let it dry in the sun ; wet it again. What do you 

 think can be the use of the movements it makes ? Find 

 other grasses with bristles of like habits. 



The sedges grow in moist places, and resemble the 

 grasses. What is commonly called the tule, in California, is 

 really a sedge, so is the Papyrus of our gardens. Tules, as 

 you probably know, are used to build huts or to thatch 

 adobe houses, and the Papyrus was once used for paper ; 

 but generally the sedges, like their neighbors the cat- tails 

 and rushes, are of more use to birds and water-fowl than to 

 man. They often defend themselves against cattle by 

 sharp teeth along the edges of the leaves. 



A higher group of endogens contains the pine-apple, 

 ginger plant, canna, and banana. Perhaps you have seen 

 the banana bearing fruit in California ; in tropical countries 

 great quantities of fruit are produced ; in fact, bananas 

 form the principal food of millions of people. The bright 

 flowers of the canna are specially interesting ; try to make 

 out the parts for yourselves ; call the three, small, outside 

 parts the sepals, and be sure to find the stigma and pollen. 



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