BOTANICAL CHARACTERS 



67 



the "ear," terminating a short lateral branch and closely chap. 

 enveloped in leaf-sheaths called the husk ; the long styles, IV - 

 exserted in anthesis, form the silk or beard. 



6r. Plant Structure. — All plants are living organisms, 

 which feed and breathe in order to grow and multiply their 

 kind. Their food-material consists of water, several of the 



Fig. 11. — Maize plants in the Transvaal. 



chemical substances of which the soil is composed, and carbon 

 which is obtained from the air. 



Plants are built up of a vast number of cells of' different 

 forms (Fig. 1 3) ; the cell is a microscopic sac usually consisting 

 of a cell-wall surrounding a jelly-like mass called protoplasm 

 (Fig. 13c). The cell-wall is a colourless membrane composed 



5* 



