oiiDER cxLii. — cJKAMiNA* i;.i:. 578 



'2. Z. FLu'iTANS, (Mich.) Stan slender, braiitliiiig. Leaves linear, 

 fiat. Spikes solitary, uxilL'uy, setaceous, usually 4-tl()\vrre(l ; upper 

 ones staminate, lower pistillate. A small, creeping, jointed gras?. — 

 Wet places. Geo., on the coast. JJi/dro/jyrum Jhiitaug, Kunlh. 



3. Z. milia'cea, (ilich.) Stem erect, glabrous. Leaves very lontr, 2 — 

 6 feet, 1 — 2 inches wide, flat. Flowers in an expanding panicle, fertile 

 and sterile ones intermingled. Ghimes with short awns. — If. April — 

 May. In water. 6 — 10 feet. 



Tribe II.— PIIALARI'DE^. 



Sjnkelets usually 1-flowered and perfect; if more than 1- 

 flowered, polygamous or monoecious. 



Genus IV.— ZE'A. L. {Lidian Corn.) 

 (From zao, to live.) 



Floivers monoecious ; staminate flowers terminal, racemose, 

 paniculate. Sjnkelets 2-flowered ; pistillate flowt-rs in axillary, 

 compact spikes, inclosed in many sheaths. Spikchts 2-flow- 

 ered ; low^er one neutral, superior one fertile. Glumes 2, fleshy, 

 broad, ciliate. Palece fleshy, glabrous, concave. Ovarium ob- 

 lique, sessile, smooth. Sti/le terminal, long, exserted without 

 the sheaths, bifid at the apex, pubescent, channeled. 



1. Z. MAYS, (L.) Cuhn solid, simple. Leaves broad, flat; ligule 

 short, ciliate ; fertile spikes, with the spikelets in many series, inclo.-ed 

 in several sheaths or husks, which are the sheaths of leaves from par- 

 tially developed internodes. 



Indigenous in Paraguay and probably in other parts of the world. Corn is said to 

 have been found in the tombs of Egypt, and to have been cultivated in China Lt-foro 

 the discovery of America. It is now the most extensively cultivatid grain, boing 

 gi-own within the limits of 42° south to 4.5^ north latitu(k>, and on plains and moun- 

 tains. It atfords food for men and animals from tiie grain, and its ivavc-s afford fotjder 

 for animals. It may be grown for sugar. Kee[) off the tassel and .silk till tlu- stalk is 

 mature, and sugar of good quality may be made from it and in i.'rt-.it abun<luncc. 

 There is a great variet}'' of Indian Corn. Some suppose the varii-tios t(» be distinct 

 species; others, that they are the result of cultivation. Some viirieties wil piTfi«ct 

 their growth, it is snu], in forty days from planting ; which the French chII Jfiim 

 quaranttiin, or fort ij-d a ijs corn: other varieties re(inire six munth'^ Thla adapLi- 

 tion to climate is of immense importance in its wide distribution over the surfa-e of 

 the globe. 



Genus v.— ALOPECU'RUS. L. {Fox-hiil Gras^.) 



(From alopex, fox, and ourti, tail, from the shape of the spike.) 



Glumes 2, 1-flowered, nearly eijual. Palece united, cleft on 

 one side below the middle. Stales often connate. 



1. A. genicula'tus, (L.) /S^^m geniculate, ascending, glabrous. Ij<a>'f» 

 glabrous ; sheaths shorter than tJie joints, glabrous. J'anicle composed 

 of cylindrical spikes. Glumes coniprcssed, connate at the b.-ise, pulx's- 

 cent. Palece truncate, glabrous, witii an awn at the Im^e. — U- March. 

 In rice-fields. Common. 12 — 18 inches. 



