INTRODUCTION. 
The fruits and seeds of plants present characters which are less sub- 
ject to variation than any of the other organs or parts. In consequence, 
these characters are of the highest importance in studying the classifi- 
cation and relationships of plants. They are employed in separating 
the larger groups, and in some cases ordinal characters are based upon 
them; and within many families the fruit affords the best differential 
characters for the separation of subtribes, and even genera. To what 
extent the fruit, or caryopsis, of grasses may be employed in determin- 
ing the relationships of the various tribes and genera is to some extent 
indicated in the following paper. Enough is presented to show that 
the characters possess great value in this connection and clearly empha- 
size the interest and importance of a knowledge of the structure and 
morphology of the caryopsis of the different tribes of Graminex—a 
subject here treated for the first time in the English language. 
The structure of the fruits of the cereals has been investigated to 
some extent at a number of the agricultural colleges and experiment 
Stations, but the cultivated grains only represent three of the thirteen 
S. 
F. LAMSON-SCRIBNER. 
4 
