126 
W. C. Etheridge 
and the lemmas are similar in texture. 
Kornicke and Werner (1885) 
distinguished five types 
of A. nuda, according to 
the form of the panicles 
(unilateral or equilat- 
eral), the number of 
awns in the spikelet, and 
the color of the kernels. 
The present classifica- 
tion, however, does not 
include specimens exhib- 
iting all the variations 
described by Kornicke 
and Werner, since only 
the equilateral form of 
panicle is represented. 
(Plate VII, and fig. 21.) 
At the present time 
A. nuda is of no impor- 
tance as a cultivated 
plant in either Europe 
or America, although it 
is used in China, where 
according to Schulz 
(1913) at least one form 
has been grown for more 
than a thousand years. 
AVENA STERILIS 
The wild forms of 
s Avena sterilis are dis- 
tinguished chiefly by 
the persistence of the 
upper grains to their 
axes. The two parts do 
not easily separate, as 
in other forms of Avena, 
and the grain on being removed from the spikelet carries with it its axis, 
Fig 21. panicle of avena nuda 
