22 



FLOWERS 



almost completely enclose the flowers of the spikelet. In thresh- 

 ing most varieties of Oats, only the glumes are removed, the 

 kernel still remaining enclosed by the lemma and palea, which 

 form the covering known as the hull of the grain. A grain of 

 Oats, therefore consists of the kernel and its hull; and the 

 quality of Oats depends much upon the proportion of hull to 

 kernel. As indicated in Figure 18, the lower flower grows 



Fig. 20. — Spikelet of Wheat much enlarged and shown with the bracts 

 spread apart, so that parts of the flower may be seen. The flowers are num- 

 bered and the parts of one flower are labelled, e, outer glumes; /, lemma; 

 ■pa, palea; p, pistil; s, stamens; I, lodicule; a, awn or beard; r, rachis. 



more rapidly than the others and forms the larger kernel to 

 which the smaller one sometimes remains attached after 

 threshing. 



Wheat Flowers. — In Wheat the head, usually called spike, 

 consists of many spikelets arranged in two rows along the zig-zag 

 axis of the head. (Fig. 19.) This zig-zag axis is the rachis of 

 the spike. The spikelets are not borne at the ends of branches 



