212 BOTANY OF CROP PLANTS 



pointed, and five- to six-nerved; the palet is oval, rounded 

 above, pointed, and thin-membranous; lodicules are absent; 

 there are three stamens; the ovary is obovate, smooth, and 

 with two style branches. 



Pollination. — Pearl millet is regularly cross-pollinated. 

 The flowers near the middle of the inflorescence are the first 



Fig. 79.- 



-Millets. i, Common; 2, Hungarian; 3, Siberian; 4. Golden Won- 

 der; s, Japanese Barnyard; 6, German; 7, Pearl. 



to open. The stigmas of perfect flowers first appear be- 

 tween the closed glumes, then the stamens, which are in turn 

 followed by the appearance of staminate flowers. 



Mature Grain. — The kernel is 3 to 4 millimeters long, reach- 

 ing the length of the glumes, obovate, somewhat flattened on 



