ME. G. BENTHAM ON GEAMIIfEJE. 75 



Series B. POACE^. 



Having already explained the difference between the two 

 primary divisions of Graminese, I need only repeat here that 

 the main characters of Poaceee consist, firstly, in the want of any 

 articulation of the pedicel below the lower empty glumes, which 

 remain persistent after the fruiting one has fallen away, or fall 

 away separately, and, secondly, in the male or imperfect or rudi- 

 mentary flowers, when present, being above, not below, the fertile 

 one. The former character is all but universal; but from the 

 latter one exceptions are not very rare, besides that, where there 

 is only one flower without any continuation of the rhachilla 

 beyond it, the character entirely fails. I should add that in 

 some tribes of Poacese there are two or more perfect flowers in the 

 spikelet, which is not the case in Panicacese ; and may now pro- 

 ceed to examine in detail the eight tribes into which this second 

 series may be divided. 



Tribe VII. PHAiiEiDEiE. 



The close aflBnity of this tribe and the Oryzeje has been 

 generally admitted, and the two are usually placed in juxtapo- 

 sition ; I had even proposed their consolidation into a single one 

 in the 'Plora Australiensis.' They have in common the im- 

 portant character of the scale immediately under the single 

 perfect terminal flower being- keeled or one-nerved, so as to make 

 it a matter of discussion whether it be a glume terminal on the 

 main axis or rhachilla of the spikelet, or a palea at the base of a 

 secondary floral axis. The deciduous part of the spikelet of Phala- 

 ridese with its four glumes (or three glumes and a palea) is precisely 

 as in OryzesB ; but there are in addition, below the articulation, 

 the two persistent empty glumes characteristic of PoaceJB. The 

 spikelet, therefore, in this tribe consists of six glumes (or five and 

 a palea), the lowest pair empty below the articulation; the second 

 pair, above the articulation, corresponding to the lowest two glumes 

 of Oryzese, are usually empty and small, sometimes reduced to a 

 small bristle, rarely enclosing each a small palea or a male flower; 

 the upper pair (or glume and similar palea) enclosing the terminal 

 fertile flower and fruit, without any continuation of the rhachilla 

 above it. A slight apparent exception will be mentioned under 

 Phalaris itself; and in the genus Ginna of AgrostidesB and a very 

 few Bambuseee the palea of the fertile flower is, at least apparently, 



