228 



ZHSSOJVS WITH PLANTS 



grass flower, and the rush, which, to casual obser- 

 vers is a grass, really belongs to another family. 



262. In Obs. xxx. we became acquainted with 

 the pistillate spike of Indian corn (Fig. 167), and 

 the pupil was asked to find the stam- 

 inate flowers. Some of these stami- 

 nate flowers are shown enlarged in 

 Fig. 219. It will be 

 seen that there are 

 two flowers in the little 

 cluster, each compris- 

 ing three stamens, and 

 the flowering glumes 

 are at 1, 1, and the 

 palets at 2, 2. The 

 flower at the right is 

 not yet in bloom. In other 

 words, Fig. 219 shows a flower- 

 cluster, or a part of one. 

 This is called a spikelet, a term 

 applied, in the grasses, to the 

 closely associated flowers upon the ultimate branches 

 of the cluster. The pupil will at once catch 

 the resemblance of these flowers to those of the 

 rye and June -grass, and will be prepared to be 

 told that Indian corn belongs to the grass family, 

 although it looks much less like grass than the 

 rush does. 



Fig. 219. 

 Staminate spikelet of maize. 



