80 



ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURAL BOTANY. 



junction of the blade and the sheath there is a thin 

 appendage which is called a ligule. 



104. In many grass-flowers, besides the parts described 

 above there will be found one or two minute scales below the 



pistil. These are known as 

 lodicules, and are analogous 

 to the perianth in ordinary 

 flowers. They are, on ac- 

 count of their minuteness, 

 very liable to be overlooked 

 in a superficial examination. 

 105. The immense Order 

 Graminece (Grass Family) 

 includes all our valuable 

 grains, and is, on the whole, 

 the most important and 

 useful of all the Orders. Its 

 representatives are to be 

 found in every part of the 

 world, and they vary in size 

 from the stunted growths 

 of the polar regions to the 

 tree-like Bamboo of the 

 tropics. Wheat, Indian 

 Corn, Barley, Oats, Rye, 

 Sugar-cane, Rice, are all 

 Grasses, as well as the plants which make the verdure of 

 our meadows and pastures. The flowers of all are very 

 similar, but the Order is sub-divided on the basis of 



Pig. 103. Panicle of Red -top. 

 Fig. 104. Single flower. (Gray.) 



Fig. 104. 



Fig. 103. 



