GRASS FAMILY. 409 
3; anthers linear, erect ; scales 2, collateral, fleshy, glabrous. PisrinLaTEe 
SPIKELETs sessile, 2- flowered (the lower one abortive), in dense continuous 
rm axill 
spikes, which terminate short ose, ches,—the en- 
ped by sheaths of abortive leaves, called husks; glumes fleshy-mem- 
branaceous, ve cilia the | one emargi - ; 
ee ~ ceous,—the abortive flo: 
roundish ovoid ; style capillary, very lo m the envelopes 
of the spike, pubescent at the summit, and mostly bifid ( ? 
Grain usually crowded and then compressed, cuneate or roundish-kidney- 
shaped, with a shallow groove on _ ® OED side containing the embryo, 
—the base imbedded in the t glumes and paler. Annual: 
pers Pp 
culm stout, solid with pith ; pisillate pee or in 8-12 longitudinal rows 
on the thick su sub-cylindric rachis, the rows always in approximated pairs, 
= the spaces are filled by their growth ; spzkes (or ears) 1-3 or 4 
rarely more—usually 2) on a culm. 
1. Z. Mays Leaves flat, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, with a broad 
midrib ade above. 
Indian Corn. haa 
Culm 
n 
manne, on alternate side, aig the nodes. Leaves 2-8 feet le ga rand Sisehel 
dog pubescent above, smooth beneath ; sheaths smooth, pubescent along the margins ; 
Caletyated. Native of South America. Fl. July. Fr. September. 
Obs. Culture has produced several varieties of this plant,— 
grains yellow, white, or sometimes dark p ; the — ag is 
much smaller than in the middle and Southassoksel States. There is, 
: . es 
= 
ab 
the Rice, in intrinsic value, and, in ne mie > Saieaiee dintiote: tad ing 
next in im ce to Wheat itself. In a yang light, the Corn 
Plant is an interesting one. The staminate flowers, commonly called 
the tassel, are arranged at the summit of the plant where their pollen 
may fall upon the pistillate spikes, or ears, below ; these are dense spikes 
covered with sheaths of abortive leaves, the husks, which often have their 
blade more or less developed. The silk kof the ear is the elongated pistils, 
one of which proceeds from each ovary or kernel. The cob is the thick — 
rachis, and the chaff eo covers it the glumes and palee. From the - 
“nodes or joints aé vet Os ante 
humble ay. the celebrated Banyan-tree. bes gi of the stem, before 
the grain is perfected, e amount of saccharine 
toy me | 1 + ee bie xe 7 
in the varieties known as sweet corn—have much Sugar, which i is changed 
into starch as the grain ri 2 
18 
