Weatherwax : The Oriental Maydeae 
17 
1. Zea and Euchlaena. The evidences of relationship be- 
tween these have been discussed elsewhere (6). 
2. Tripsacum. Except for monoecism this genus resem- 
bles some of the Andropogoneae, such as Manisuris, much 
more than the other Maydeae. 
3. Coix. The indurated spathe, and the usual occurrence 
of the spikelets in groups of three, separate this genus from 
the other Maydeae. Its sexual condition is also much less 
stable than that of the other oriental genera. 
4. Polytoca, Sclerachne, and Chionachne. There is a close 
similarity among these genera in the fusion of the pedicel of 
the spikelet with the rachis, the induration of the outer glume 
of the pistillate spikelet, and the peculiar structure of the 
parenchyma in the node of the rachis at which the pistillate 
spikelet is attached. 
In habit, structure of inflorescence, nature of the caryopsis, 
and geographical distribution there is evidence of relationship 
between the last two of these groups. But there is little to 
indicate clearly the position of these four eastern genera with 
reference to the other Maydeae or any other tribe. Among 
the American genera Zea and Euchlaena present a similar 
problem. 
The writer is greatly indebted to a number of persons and 
institutions for material and information received in connec- 
tion with this study. Seeds and herbarium specimens of 
Polytoca and Coix were received from K. Rangachariar, 
Coimbatore, India, and R. W. Shide and W. Burns, Poona, 
India. Seeds and herbarium specimens of Sclerachne were 
sent by the Botanical Garden of Buitenzorg. C. T. White, 
of the Botanic Gardens of Brisbane, Queensland, supplied 
the material of Chionachne. The Office of Seed and Plant 
Introduction, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, placed 
at my disposal the seeds of many varieties of Coix from India 
and the Philippine Islands. 
Literature Cited 
1. Baillon, H. Histoire des plantes. Paris. 1894. 
2. Bentham, G. and Hooker, J. D. Genera plantarum. 
London. 1853. 
3. Hackel, E. Gramineae. In Nat. Pflanzenfam. Leipzig. 
1889. 
