110 Lueders—Floral Structure of Some Graminece . 
ure; palet (sometimes absent ?) 2-nerved, hyaline, very thin, 
■J—f the length of glume: fertile flower shorter than sterile; its 
glume and palet chartaceous: whole spikelet purplish. 
Andropogon furcatus Muhl. — “Sterile spiklet staminate. ” 
Instead of the condition thus indicated (both in the descrip¬ 
tion of species and character of section), specimens collected dur¬ 
ing various seasons in Wisconsin, Illinois, Massachusetts, Penn¬ 
sylvania, present a wide range of variation in structure of 
pedicelled spikelet so as to justify apparently the following 
characterization: 
Pedicelled spikelet various, sometimes consisting only of 2 
reduced empty glumes, sometimes two-flowered, in which case the 
lower flower may be perfect. 
Between the extremes thus indicated lie numerous interme¬ 
diate forms. As these: (a) spikelet consisting of two normal 
empty glumes; (b) spikelet consisting of two normal empty 
glumes inclosing 1 reduced flowering glume and palet; (c) 
spikelet consisting of normal empty glumes and sterile flower 
of 3 stamens inclosed by flowering glume and palet of average 
size; upper flower represented by the flowering glume. The 
following is the detailed description of the most perfect con¬ 
dition observed: 
Lower empty glume convex-keeled, acute, 7-nerved, longer 
than upper glume which is 3-5-nerved, carinate, acute, thinner 
than upper one; both roughened along edge and keel: lower 
flower shorter than empty glumes, its flowering glume blunt 
membranaceous, hyaline, 1-nerved, erose-ciliate above; palet hya¬ 
line, thin, § length of flowering glume, nerveless: stamens 3: 
upper flower represented by a glume equalling that of fertile 
flower, broadly-convex, 1-nerved, hyaline, erose-ciliate above. 
Thus far I have not ascertained whether these perfect flowers 
were capable of producing seed, or are still sterile. 
Sauk City, Wis. 
