PEDICELED SPIKELETS 33 



(Scleropogon brevifolius) . The lemmas of the stam- 

 inate spikelet are merely pointed; those of the 

 pistillate spikelet bear three long slender twisted 

 spreading awns. The pistillate florets fall from the 

 glumes as a whole (the rachilla not disarticulating 

 between them) and roll before the wind as tiny 

 tumble weeds. 



SUMMARY 



The inflorescence and the two to several-flowered 

 spikelets of the brome-grasses, blue-grasses and their 

 relatives are comparatively simple. In a few genera 

 sterile spikelets are developed and in a few others 

 the spikelets are unisexual. 



REVIEW 



Collect specimens of orchard-grass, meadow fescue, any 

 species of brome-grass, or of Poa, or of any available grasses 

 having laterally compressed, few to several-flowered spikelets. 

 Identify the different parts of the spikelets. Lemmas may be 

 spread out for examination by cutting off the very base with a 

 sharp knife or scalpel. Spikelets of tough or rigid texture if 

 soaked in water for a few minutes may be dissected without 

 tearing. If very tough or hard, boiling the spikelets in water 

 with a little glycerine (a drop of glycerine to about a teaspoonful 

 of water) will make them manageable and keep them from drying 

 out during dissection. 



