Weatherwax: The Oriental Maydeae 
5 
Most varieties are annual, the plant dying soon after seed 
production, but some are perennial. In the greenhouse some 
of the perennial varieties regularly produce two crops of 
flowers and seeds each year, flowering in March and Septem- 
ber. No rhizomes or other underground organs of food stor- 
age are produced, and continuity of propagation in the peren- 
nial forms is secured by basal suckers. It is doubtful if the 
plants could undergo any considerable period of dormancy 
due to either cold or drought. 
Fig. 3. 
pistillodium 
A staminate flower of Coix. 
(rudimentary pistil). 
s, stamen; 1, lodicule; p, 
Inflorescence . — The most striking feature of the plant is 
the hard shell covering the female spikelet and caryopsis 
(Figs. 1, 2, and 4-11). As will be shown in detail later, this 
consists of a single greatly modified leaf sheath, whose pecu- 
liar conical or pyriform shape and glistening appearance long 
ago gave to the widely distributed form of the plant the 
common name “Job’s Tears,” by which it is known all over the 
world and in many languages. 
