eee all i ed ied 
According to the kind of inflorescence, grasses may be divided into two groups; — 1. Panicled 
grasses (all the fodder grasses, except Ryegrasses), and 2. Spiked grasses (Ryegrasses, Wheat, Rye etc.). 
When the branches of a panicle are short and close together, the term spikelike is applied. 
Panicles of this kind, when bent, shew at once, that the spikelets have stalks, and that the inflorescence 
is really a panicle and not a spike e.g. Timothy, Meadow foxtail, Sweet vernal (Pl. VIII, IX, X). 
When young, the flower is completely enclosed and concealed by the pair of pales which goes 
along with it. It is composed of a pair of very minute, membranous scales, the Jodicules, which, 
during flowering, become swollen and fleshy; three stamens: and a pistil with two stigmas. 
The lodicules lie directly above the lower pale; they are, however, often absent (Sweet vernal, 
Meadow foxtail Pl. IX and X), and very rarely three are present*). 
There are always three stamens, except in Sweet vernal, which has only two (PI. X, Fig. 1—5), 
and some species of Fescue, which have only one (Festuca myurus and bromoides). One of the stamens 
always lies between the two lodicules, in front of the lower pale; the other two, at the sides of 
the upper pale. The anther is two-lobed, and bifid at both extremities. The filament is attached to 
the back of the anther by a mere point, situated at the basal angle of the anther lobes (Dorsifixed 
versatile anthers). The anther opens by a pair of longitudinal slits, and, once it opens, the slightest 
shake causes the small clouds of dry pollen to come out. 
The ovary is a sessile obovate sack, which bears either on its summit or on its sides a pair of 
styles. The branches of the latter are furnished with stigmatic papillae. whose function it is to receive 
and retain the pollen i. e. to act as a stigma. The whole style may be covered, almost to its base 
with these branches (feathery stigma) e.g. Meadow fescue Pl. IV, Fig. 2, or the branches may be 
confined to the apex of the style so as to form a brush-like structure (Penicillate stigma) e.g. Timothy 
Pl. VIII, Fig. 4, and Sweet vernal Pl. X, Fig. 2. The ovary contains in its interior a single ovule, 
altached to the side lying next the upper pale (ventral suture). 
When a flower contains functional stamens and pistil, it is called hermaphrodite; when the pistil 
is rudimentary or absent, and the stamens are alone functional, the flower is spoken of as male e.g. 
False Oatgrass (Pl. VY) and Yorkshire fog (Pl. VII). In the case of many-flowered spikelets it often 
happens that the terminal pales are empty and contain no flower; these are called rudiments. 
The structure of the whole spikelet can be shewn at a glance by means of the diagram. On such 
a diagram, the black dot in the middle indicates the axis of the spikelet. The glumes and pales lie 
along a line, to indicate that they are alternate and two-rowed. The lower down any organ occurs on 
the spikelet, the further it lies from the black dot indicating the axis; the glumes are thus most ex- 
_ ternal, one to the right, and one to the left of the axis. Glumes and pales are represented by segments 
of circles, and on these the ribs are indicated by points. The lodicules are represented by very small 
segments of circles; the stamens, by drawings resembling transverse sections of the anthers; and the 
ovary, by a pair of concentric circles provided with two feathery stigmas (See Pl. I, Fig. 8). Each 
flower is enclosed in a pair of pales. 
Before flowering the pales completely enclose the flower. The process of flowering goes on in 
three ways: — 
I. The pales open widely, or rather, the lower pale moves away from the upper with great rap- 
idity, so as to form with it an angle of 30°—50°. The stamens now appear as a small column formed 
of three anthers, standing upon the filaments, which are at this stage quite short. The stigmas are 
also erect and concealed by the anthers (See Pl. I, Fig. 1). As soon as the stamens are placed at li- 
berty by the opening of the pales, the filaments begin to lengthen, and in a few minutes become 
3—4 times their original length**). 
*) Morphologically they are usually regarded as representing a rudimentary perianth. From their development 
Hackel regards them as the representatives of a bifid bract. 
**) Askenasy has shewn that this rapid growth is entirely due to the absorption of water from the anthers, which 
causes tension and stretching of the cells of the filaments. 
Flower. 
Diagram of 
the spikelet. 
Flowering. 
