GRAPTOPHYLLUM 



elliptic, acuminate, irregularly marked with yellow along 

 the midrib: fls. crimson, in axillary whorls; corolla pu- 

 bescent. Habitat? B.R. 13:1227. Lowe 45. (B.M. 1870 

 shows a variety with reddish brown coloring). 



GBASS (Graminea). Annual or perennitil herbs 

 (some bamboos woody), mostly tufted or decumbent, 

 rarely climbing, often creeping and rooting at the base. 

 True roots fibrous. Stems (culms) simple or branching, 

 usually hollow (wheat), sometimes solid (maize) between 

 the nodes. Leaves springing from the nodes, alternate, 

 in two vertical rows on the stem; the sheaths closed 



983. Spike of a Grass (rye), containing many flowers. 



when young, but usually split down one side in matur- 

 ing; ligule a thin tongue-like growth at the apex of the 

 sheath ; blade entire, parallel-veined, commonly long 

 and narrow; a 2-keeled membranous prophyllum (or 

 leaf) always standing between each branch and the 

 main axis. Spikelets in panicles, racemes or spikes, 

 usually consisting of 2 (rarely 0, 1, or more than 2) 

 chaffy empty glumes at the base of a short axis (ra- 

 chilla) , which supports one or more floral glumes, in the 

 axil of each of which is commonly 1 flower. Flowers 



GRASS 



perfect or imperfect, destitute of true calyx or corolla. 

 Between each floral glume and flower are usually 2 

 (rarely 3) minute hyaline scales (lodicules). Stamens 

 :i (rarely 1, 2 or more than 3); pistil 1: ovary 1-celled, 

 ]-ovuled ; styles 2 (rai-ely 1 or 3), usually plumose: 

 fruit (grain or caryopsis) seed-like, often enclosed by 

 the palet and its floral glume. Seed erect, closely cov- 

 ered by the thin pericarp; embryo small, on one side of 

 the base of the endosperm. Figs. 981-984 show the 

 structure of various Grass florets. 



Perennial Grasses, such as those commonly grown for 

 meadow, pasture or lawn, produce large numbers of 

 sterile shoots that bear leaves from very short stems, 

 but no flowers. There are many widely different plants, 

 which in popular language have the name "grass" at- 

 tached to them, such as knot-grass, rib-grass, cotton- 

 grass, sea-grass, eel-grass, sedge-grass, scorpion-grass, 

 but these do not belong to the family here under consid- 

 eration. Neither are the clovers and their allies, or the 

 sedges and rushes, to 1m' .mIIicI Grasses. No other 

 plants are truly entitled i^ tlii-, ikihip, excepting those 

 answering to the de^■^illti(. II :ili,i\r ^jiven. 



The plants most lik. ly t- 1.. ini inkrii for Grasses are 

 the sedges M 'v].. r:M< ;. ,. ,<■-■> -.] t',. r. :ir. I;ir'_'i- num- 

 bers in gn-it ■ — . ' '■:■ '• I. ::';.! . 1 I i' .1 'I'llO 



best popilhil >'-''.,! I . - :i . 'I , ' ' .:cs 

 is this: tli^' -• .^ :■■■.' :.^<.u.^ . ■ ■■ -Irs 



on 2 sides, alternate and 2-raiiked. In niaiving use of 

 this test, care must be taken to select well grown, erect 

 stems. Most sedges have solid stems and most Grasses 

 have hollow stems. To learn to distinguish plants of the 

 Gr:iss iainily is lasy, but to discriminate between spe- 



known are timo- 



animals than all other kinds of vc-. i '' M. 



None of these families ismorewidil> •".•■>■ 



theearth's surface, or is found in ^i' ■'- '' • ' " " "f 



climate or diversity of soil. 



The species are very numerous in tropical regions, 

 where tlie plants are usually scattered, while in a moist, 

 temperate climate, though the species are less numer- 

 ous, tlie number of plants is enormous, often clothing 

 vast areas. Where soil is thin or moisture insufficient, 

 the Grasses grow in bunches more or less isolated. 

 Plants of one section of the family Panicaceae predomi- 

 nate in the tropics and warm temperate regions, while 

 plants of the other section, Poaceae, predominate in tem- 

 perate and cold regions. 



Overstocking dry grazing districts checks the better 

 Grasses, destroying many of them, and encourages the 

 bitter weeds which multiply and occupv tin- bni.I. 



A Grass extends its domain by rm.nii.- i t-i.., ks, l,y 



le-grass, orchard-gr 

 oat-grass, sweet-vi- 



iigar cane, chess, aiu 

 , rye, oats, rice. 

 of species the Gra- 



fooil fo 



seeds 

 the br 



Rlu 



nearest stream; the t";i--ti'v.r ;n"i nnt. i--"!- ..i -(wns 



bury some of them i -i- ,■!.-!..- •■ -•:• ^:.rtli. 



In case a growing ^t. , : , . ,: . i ' ■ -m, 



several of the low* t ■ ihe 



lower side and thu- I' ; 'ni. 



Each sheath support -,' I i : ■ i i: i' t i.ivrr 

 portion of the intirii. . ■ i ; it 



also protects the yo : j i ,',.,.;,. i ' iity 



blades of Grasses siiithIiI- i''.r i '■■!-' ki-'- :i in! l.-x. n > !.>i:L'atp 

 from the lower end, so that when flie tips are cut off 

 the leaves do not cease to elongate, but renew their 

 length. When exposed to sun or dry air, the blades de- 

 velop a thicker epidermis, and, by shrinking of some 

 of the delicate bulliform cells of the upper epidermis, 

 they diminish their surface as they roll their edges in- 

 ward or bring them together, like closing an open book. 

 When the plant is in flower the minute and delicate lodi- 



