94 



MORPHOLOGY OF SPIKELET 



[CH. 



As regards the flower proper, all our British grasses 

 except Anthoccanthum (which has two only) have three 

 stamens ; but many exotic grasses have six stamens, and 

 a few have a large number — even 40. The stamens have 

 slender filaments and large versatile anthers, which dangle 

 from between the palese when the flowers are mature, 

 scattering their clouds of fine pollen in the wind (Fig. 33). 



All our ordinary grasses except Nardus — where there 

 is a simple straight hairy style — have 

 two spreading feathery stigmatic 

 plumes, which stand out right and 

 left from between the paleas when 

 the pollen is fljning about on the 

 wind. (Fig. 33.) 



Much interesting speculation has 

 been expended in attempting to ex- 

 plain the morphological or theoretical 

 significance of the parts of the spike- 

 let of a grass. If we project the 

 various organs on a flat surface in 

 the form of a plan, keeping their 

 relative positions intact, we obtain 

 a diagram such as that shown in 

 Fig. 34. 



The comparison of numerous 

 cases, and the study of the develop- 

 ment of the parts on the microscopic 

 growing point dissected out from 

 young buds, have suggested that 

 the inner and outer glumes are bracts, or covering leaves, 



Fig. 34. Diagram of a 

 spikelet of a grass. 

 The two glumes — g^ 

 outer, g^ inner — em- 

 brace four flowers, of 

 which 1 is the lower- 

 most and 4 the upper- 

 most. 



