GEASS FAMILY. 



409 



S : anthers linear, erect ; scales 2, collateral, flesliy, glabrous. Pistillate 

 BPiKKLETs sessile, 2-flowered (the lower one abortive), in dense continuous 

 spikes, -u'liich terminate short, nodose, axillary branches, — the spikes en- 

 veloped by sheaths of abortive leaves, called husks; glwnes ^eshj-mem- 

 branaceous, very broad, ciliate, — the lower one emarginately 2-lobed ; 

 palecB fleshy-membranaceoiis, — the abortive floret with 2 palese. Ovary 

 roundish ovoid ; style capillary, very long, exserted from the envelopes 

 of the spike, pubescent at the summit, and mostly bifid (stigmas ? ) 

 Grain usually crowded and then compressed, cuneate or roundish-kidney- 

 shaped, with a shallow groove on the upper side containing the embryo, 

 — the base imbedded in the persistent glumes and paleoe. Annual: 

 culm stout, solid with pith ; pistillate spikelets in 8 - 12 longitudinal rows 

 on the thick sub-cylindric rachis, the rows always in approximated pairs, 

 before the spaces are filled by their growth ; spikes (or ears) 1-3 or 4 

 (rarely more — usually 2) on a culm. 



1. Z. Mays, L. Leaves flat, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, with a broad 

 midrib channelled above. 



Indian Corn. Maize. 



Culm 4-15 feet high, and about an inch or an inch and a half in diametor, simple (often 

 producing branches or suckers, at base) , nodose, semi-terete, or with a broad shallow 

 channel, on alternate sides, between the nodes. Leaves 2 -3 feet long, and 2 -4 inches 

 wide, pubescent above, smooth beneath ; sheaths smooth, pubescent along the margins ; 

 liffule^ short. 



Cultivated. Native of South America. Fl. July. Fi: September. 



Ohs. Culture has produced several varieties of this plant, — with the 

 grains yellow, white, or sometimes dark purple. In the North, it is 

 much smaller than in the middle and South-western States. There is, 

 also, a remarkable variety — frequent, I believe, in the South-west — in 

 which a kind of husk, or involucre, is developed around every grain, or 

 spikelet, on the receptacle. The Indian Corn is one of the most interest- 

 ing of the Gramineas, or Grass Family, — rivalling the Sugar Cane and 

 the Rice, in intrinsic value, and, in the more favorable districts, ranking 

 next in importance to Wheat itself. In a botanical light, the Corn 

 Plant is an interesting one. The staminate flowers, commonly called 

 the tassel, are arranged at the summit of the plant where their pollen 

 may fall upon the pistillate spikes, or ears, below ; these are dense spikes 

 covered with sheaths of abortive leaves, the husks, which often have their 

 blade more or less developed. The silk of the ear is the elongated pistils, 

 one of which proceeds from each ovary or kernel. The cob is the thick 

 rachis, and the chaS* which covers it the glumes and paleae. From the 

 lower nodes or joints aerial roots are often thrown out, imitating in an 

 humble way the celebrated Banyan-tree. The juice of the stem, before 

 the grain is perfected, contains a considerable amount of saccharine 

 matter, and sugar has been obtained from it. The young ears — especially 

 in the varieties known as sweet corn — have much sugar, which is chano-ed 

 into starch as the grain ripens. ^ 

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