Ch. XIII] 



THE MONOCOTYLEDONS 



531 



relationship. The flowers are mostly bisexual, and ar- 

 ranged in spikes or panicles, often rendered conspicuous 

 by their feathery stigmas, abundant stamens, and posi- 

 tion above the leaves, as any meadow illustrates. Each 

 flower is provided with green bracts (glumes, Fig. 373), 



Fio. 374. — The Giant Bamboo, Gigantochloa ater, in a 

 Botanic Garden in Ceylon. (From Bailey.) 



instead of the single spathe to a cluster, and the fruit is the 

 characteristic grain (page 349). Very distinctive are the 

 interlacing rootstocks producing annual shoots (Fig. 129), 

 thus forming a turf which competes with the Mosses as 

 carpet plants. The Grass family (Gramineas) includes some 

 5000 species, chiefly mesophytic but widely distributed 



