230 IMPORTANT FAMILIES OF PLANTS 



spring and harvested during the summer and' known as " spring 

 wheat." Other varieties are sowed in the fall and harvested 

 the following July and known as " winter wheat." Wheat 

 probably originated in western Asia and was cultivated long 

 before we have any authentic historical records. (Fig. 150.) 



Rye (Secale cereale) is very similar to wheat and is used as 

 food for both man and beast. We have no satisfactory records 

 telling us where it was first cultivated by mankind. (Fig. 56.) 



Barley (Hordeum vulgare, H. disiichum, H. hexastichon 

 and H. Zeocriton) is also similar to wheat and is also used for 

 man and beast. Its cultivation probably antedates historical 

 records. 



Oats (Avena sativa) have the two- to five-flowered spike- 

 lets borne in panicles. The glumes are membranous and with- 

 out awns ; three stamens and two stigmas. Annuals which are 

 sowed in the spring and harvested in July or August. Its geo- 

 graphical range is not so great as most of the other cereals ; it 

 grows well in cold regions and rather poorly in warm countries. 

 It probably originated in western Asia and eastern Europe, 

 but we have no very satisfactory records of its early cultiva- 

 tion and uses. Although it is less nutritive than wheat or rye 

 it is very extensively used as food for man and beast. 



Millet (Setaria italica) is an Asiatic plant cultivated many 

 centuries before the Christian Era. It is very widely but not 

 extensively grown through many temperate and tropical coun- 

 tries. It is very inferior to oats and many other forage crops 

 which can be grown with no greater expense of time and labor. 



Rice (Oryza sativa and other species) is an important trop- 

 ical and subtropical plant growing in low, wet lands. We have 

 no definite records telling us when it first became the food of 

 man, but it was cultivated for at least 2800 years before the 

 Christian Era and has probably contributed more food to the 

 human race than any other food plant. 



