i6o 



TEXTBOOK OF BOTANY 



some of the upper leaves. But if the ears that appear in the 

 axils of these are removed while still very small, new ones will 

 be formed in the axils of some of the lower leaves. 



The cob of an ear of com is really a branch that bears many 

 flowers, closely packed together. The husks that cover the 

 ear are leaves of a special form, which protect the flowers 



and young fruits from 

 injury. Each cob bears 

 many spikelets (small 

 branches) , which are 

 arranged in rows run- 

 ning lengthwise of the 

 cob. Each spikelet 

 (Fig. 99, A, B) bears 

 two very small pistil- 

 late flowers. Of these 

 two, the lower flower 

 (that nearer the cob) 

 in most varieties of com 



a lengthwise section 

 through a pistillate spikelet of Indian corn ; 

 a , base of stigma ; b, style, penetrated by a 

 narrow canal; c, ovary; d, ovule; e, pistil, 

 and /, stamen, of the undeveloped flower. 

 B, a lengthwise section through an ovary; never develops fully and 

 a, outer integument; 6, inner integument; never forms a kernel, 

 r, ovule ; d, outline of the female plant, devel- 

 oped from the macrospore; e, micropyle. 

 A after Weatherwax ; B after True. 



The upper, fully de- 

 veloped flower of the 

 spikelet has a single 

 pistil formed, like that of the bean, by a single macrospore 

 leaf ; there are also three rudimentary stamens, which are 

 hardly to be made out in a full-grown flower. Around 

 and between the flowers there are scale-like leaves which are 

 not parts of the flowers themselves but are probably to be 

 thought of as bracts. These bracts make up the chaff that 

 remains between the kernels after the ear is ripe. 



The pistil consists of a rather large ovary containing a 

 single ovule ; a short projection, the style, at the outer 

 end of the ovule and on its upper side (that is, the side 

 turned toward the tip of the ear) ; and the " silk," which is 



