298 BIOLOGY. 



1611. Nodose plants with hollow scape or shaft, tubu- 

 lar leaves, glumose blossoms, and cariopsidal fruits are 

 Grasses* 



DIVISION. 



1612. The Bark-plants pass moreover, together 

 with their subdivisions, through the five stages of vege- 

 table organs, and they will therefore produce also a more 

 perfect stalk, leaves, and flowers. The whole calyx will, 

 however, never be coloured or corolla-like in its cha- 

 racter. Cortical plants are thus herbaceous plants with 

 hollow stalk, and with an arrested or green calyx, without 

 sarcose or fleshy fruit. 



1613. Those, which have simply glumose flowers, are 

 without doubt the lowest in rank, as corresponding to 

 the tissues and stock, but not yet to the flower. 



1614. These again divide into two great groups, 

 whereof the one includes plants with simply uni-seminal 

 cariopsides, the other, on the contrary, capsules contain- 

 ing a free seed Grasses and Reed-grasses. The grasses 

 which have a cariopsis or grain-fruit reascend by two 

 stages; the most inferior in rank do not attain to a 

 ramification, but the flowers stand crowded together in 

 spikes ; the others, on the contrary, are pedunculated and 

 ramify in panicles. 



1615. Among the higher kinds instead of glumes 

 there are regular flowers, of which, however, the calyx is 

 still glumose or at least green. The cariopsis is converted 

 into a multilocular capsule, as in the Restiacea?, Comme- 

 Iinea3, &c. 



1616. The first order, or the Parenchymatous grasses, 

 have glumose flowers with a cariopsis for fruit, borne 

 upon culms or nodose straws, and do not attain to any 

 ramification spicate grasses. In their seeds we meet 

 with the greatest amount of starch developed, though 

 doubtless at the cost of the trunk. 



1617. The second order of Spathose grasses are similar, 

 and support ramified flowers -paniculate grasses. In 

 this division occur grasses of a dendroidal character, 



