GRASSES OF OHIO 
329 
cence, the carpellate spikelet covered by a hardening bead-like sheath, 
bluish-gray in color and shining when ripe, the staminate inflores¬ 
cence small and projecting on a slender pedicel from the bead-like 
sheath. 
Grown for the ornamental fruits which are used as beads and 
for rosaries. In waste places around gardens. July-Sept. Persistent 
in Franklin County. 
68. Zea L. Indian-corn. 
Tall coarse annual grasses with solid stems, large broad flat 
leaves, prominent prop roots, and a monecious inflorescence, the 
staminate spikelets in an ample panicle at the summit of the stem, 
and the carpellate spikelets on an ear covered with husks at the 
side of the main stem. Staminate and carpellate, spikelets sometimes 
in the same panicle. Staminate spikelets 2-flowered, in pairs, one 
sessile and the other pediceled; carpellate spikelets always in double 
rows on the ear, usually 2-flowered, the outer flower vestigial; style 
of the gynecium a very long ‘‘silk”; empty glumes thick-membranous 
or coriaceous; flowering glumes hyaline; grain large, free. 
1. Zea mays L. Indian-corn. A tall, coarse, annual grass 
with broad leaves and a thick, solid, erect stem, 3-15 ft. high, de¬ 
veloping prominent prop-roots at the basal joints, an ample staminate 
panicle at the top, and one or more peculiar, compact, carpellate in¬ 
florescences at the side, called ears, covered with peculiar leaf- 
sheaths or husks; grain large, exposed, with a very long style or silk. 
Extensively cultivated in many varieties for grain, green corn, 
and fodder. Many products are made from the grain. The stigmas 
of the silk are used in medicine. In fields and waste places. June- 
Sept. Also called maize. Spontaneous in Brown, Adams, Scioto, 
Fayette, Monroe, Erie, and Hancock Counties. 
THE LISRARY OF THE 
NOV 22 1938 
university of ilunois 
