GRASSES  ,' a See also:

• GROUP

group of See also:

• PLANTS

plants possessing certain characters in See also:

• COMMON

common and constituting a See also:

• FAMILY

family (Gramineae) of the class Monocotyledons . It is one of the largest and most widespread and, from an economic point of view, the most important family of flowering plants . No plant is correctly termed a grass which is not a member of this family, but the word is in common See also:

• LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language also used, generally in See also:

• COMBINATION (Lat. combinare, to combine)

combination, for many plants of widely different See also:

• AFFINITIES

affinities which possess some resemblance (often slight) in foliage to true grasses; e.g. See also:

• KNOT
• KNOT (O.E. cnotta, from a Teutonic stem knutt; cf. " knit," and Ger. knoten)

knot-grass (Polygonum aviculare), See also:

• COTTON
• COTTON (Fr. coton; from Arab. qutun)
• COTTON, CHARLES (163o–1687)
• COTTON, GEORGE EDWARD LYNCH (1813–1866)
• COTTON, JOHN (1585–1652)
• COTTON, SIR ROBERT BRUCE

cotton-grass (Eriophorum), See also:

• RIB (from 0. Eng. ribb; the word appears' in many Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Rippe, Swed. reb)

rib-grass (Plantago), See also:

• SCORPION (Lat. Scorpio)

scorpion-grass (Myosotis), See also:

• BLUE (common in different forms to most European languages)

blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium), See also:

• SEA (in O. Eng. sae, a common Teutonic word; cf. Ger. See, Dutch Zee, &c.; the ultimate source is uncertain)
• SEA, COMMAND OF THE

sea-grass (Zostera) . The grass-See also:

• TREE (0. Eng. treo, treow, cf. Dan. tree, Swed. Odd, tree, trd, timber; allied forms are found in Russ. drevo, Gr. opus, oak, and 36pv, spear, Welsh derw, Irish darog, oak, and Skr. dare, wood)
• TREE, SIR HERBERT BEERBOHM (1853- )

tree of See also:

• AUSTRALIA

Australia (Xanthorrhoea) is a remarkable plant, allied to the rushes in the See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form of its See also:

• FLOWER (Lat. flos, floris; Fr. fleur)
• FLOWER, SIB

flower, but with a tall, unbranched, soft-woody, See also:

• PALM (Lat. palma, Gr. iraX6.jn )
• PALM, JOHANN PHILIPP (1768-1806)

palm-like See also:

• TRUNK (Fr. tronc, Lat. truncus, cut off, maimed)

trunk bearing a See also:

• CROWN

crown of See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long, narrow, grass-like leaves and stalked heads of small, densely-crowded See also:

• FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

flowers . In See also:

• AGRICULTURE
• AGRICULTURE (from Lat. ages, field, and colere, to cultivate)
• AGRICULTURE, BOARD OF

agriculture the word has an extended signification to include the various See also:

• FODDER

fodder-plants, chiefly leguminous, often called " artificial grasses." Indeed, formerly grass (also spelt gwrs, gres, gyrs in the old herbals) meant any See also:

• GREEN, A
• GREEN, ALEXANDER HENRY (1832—1896)
• GREEN, DUFF (1791—1875)
• GREEN, JOHN RICHARD (1837—1883)
• GREEN, MATTHEW (1696-1737)
• GREEN, THOMAS HILL (1836-1882)
• GREEN, VALENTINE (1739–1813)
• GREEN, WILLIAM HENRY (.1825–1900)

green herbaceous plant of small See also:

• SIZE

size . Yet the first attempts at a See also:

• CLASSIFICATION (Lat. classis, a class, probably from the root cal-, cla-, as in Gr. icaMce, clamor)

classification of plants recognized and separated a group of Gramina, and this, though bounded by nothing more definite than See also:

• HABIT (through the French from Lat. habitus, from habere, to have, hold, or, in a reflective sense, to be in a certain condition; in many of the English senses the French use habitude, not habit)

habit and See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general See also:

• APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance, contained the Gramineae of See also:

• MODERN

modern botanists . The older group, however, even with such systematists as See also:

• RAY (Lat. raia)
• RAY (or WRAY, as he wrote his name till 1670), JOHN (1628-1705)

Ray (1703), See also:

• SCHEUCHZER, JOHANN JAKOB (1672-1733)

Scheuchzer (1719), and See also:

• MICHELL, JOHN (1724-1793)

Michell (1729), embraced in addition the .See also:

• CYPERACEAE

Cyperaceae ' The word " grass " (O . Eng. gcers, gres) is common to See also:

• TEUTONIC
• TEUTONIC (GERMANIC) LANGUAGES

Teutonic See also:

• LANGUAGES

languages, cf . Dutch Ger . Goth. gras, See also:

• DAN

Dan. gres; the See also:

• ROOT (late O.E. rot, adopted from Scand., cf. Norw. and Swed. rot, Dan. rod; the true O.E. word was wyrt, plant, represented in Ger. Wurz or Wurzel; the ultimate root is the same in both words, and is seen in Lat. radix)
• ROOT, ELIHU (1845– )

root is the Q . Teut. gra-, gro-, to increase, whence " grow," and " green," the typical See also:

• COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour of growing vegetation . The Indo-See also:

• EUROPEAN

European root is seen in See also:

• LAT

Lat. gramen .

The O . Eng. grasian, formed from gres, gives " to graze," of See also:

• CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle feeding on growing herbage, also " grazier," one who grazes or feeds cattle for the See also:

• MARKET (Lat. mercatus, trade or place of trade)

market; " to graze," to abrade, to See also:

• TOUCH (derived through Fr. toucher from a common Teutonic and Indo-Germanic root, cf. " tug," " tuck," O. H. Ger. zucchen, to twitch or draw)

touch lightly in passing, may be a development of this from the See also:

• IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea of See also:

• CLOSE
• CLOSE (from Lat. clausum, shut)
• CLOSE, MAXWELL HENRY (1822-1903)

close cropping; if it is to be distinguished a possible connexion may be found with " glace " (Fr. glacer, glide, slip, Lat. glades, See also:

• ICE (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Eis)

ice), to glance off, the See also:

• CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change in -form being influenced by " See also:

• GRATE (from Lat. crates, a hurdle)

grate," to scrape, scratch (Fr. gratter, Ger. kratzen) . (Sedge family), See also:

• JUNCACEAE (rush family)

Juncaceae (See also:

• RUSH
• RUSH, BENJAMIN (1745–1813)
• RUSH, RICHARD (1780–1859)

Rush family), and some other mono-cotyledons with inconspicuous flowers . Singularly enough, the sexual See also:

• SYSTEM

system of See also:

• LINNAEUS

Linnaeus (1935) served to See also:

• MARK
• MARK, CARL (1858– )
• MARK, GOSPEL OF ST
• MARK, ST

mark off more distinctly the true grasses from these See also:

• ALLIES, THOMAS WILLIAM (1813-1903)

allies, since very nearly all of the former then known See also:

• FELL
• FELL, JOHN (1625-1686)

fell under his Triandria Digynia, whilst the latter found themselves under his other classes and orders . I . STRUCTURE.—The general type of true grasses is See also:

• FAMILIAR (through the Fr. familier, from Lat. familiaris, of or belonging to the familia, family)

familiar in the cultivated cereals of temperate climates—See also:

• WHEAT
• WHEAT (Triticum)

wheat, See also:

• BARLEY (Hordeum sativum)

barley, See also:

• RYE

rye, oats, and in the smaller plants which make up pastures and meadows and form a See also:

• PRINCIPAL

principal See also:

• FACTOR (from Lat. facere, to make or do)

factor of the See also:

• TURF

turf of natural See also:

• DOWNS

downs . Less familiar are the grains of warmer climates—See also:

• RICE (Greek 6p6 a, Latin oryza, French riz, Italian riso, Spanish arroz, derived from the Arabic)
• RICE, EDMUND IGNATIUS (1762-1844)
• RICE, JAMES (1843-1882)

rice, See also:

• MAIZE, or INDIAN CORN

maize, See also:

• MILLET (Fr. millet; Ital. miglietto, diminutive of miglio= Lat. mille, a thousand, in allusion to its fertility)
• MILLET (or MILE), JEAN FRANCOIS (c. 1642–1679)
• MILLET, FRANCIS DAVIS (1846- )
• MILLET, JEAN FRANCOIS (1814–1875)

millet and sorgho, or the See also:

• SUGAR

sugar-See also:

• CANE

cane . Still farther re-moved are the bamboos of the tropics, the columnar stems of which reach to the height of See also:

• FOREST

forest trees . All are, however, formed on a common See also:

• PLAN
• PLAN (from Lat. planes, flat)

plan . Root.—Most cereals and many other grasses are See also:

• ANNUAL

annual, and possess a tuft of very numerous slender root-See also:

• FIBRES
• FIBRES (or FIBERS, in American spelling; from Lat. fibra, apparently connected either with filum, thread, or findere, to split)

fibres, much branched and of See also:

• GREAT

great length . The See also:

• MAJORITY (Fr. majorite; Med. Lat. majoritas; Lat. major, greater)

majority of the members of the family are of longer duration, and have the roots also fibrous, but fewer, thicker and less branched . In such cases they are very generally given off from just above each See also:

• NODE (Lat. nodus, a loop)

node (often in a circle) of the See also:

• LOWER

lower See also:

• PART

part of the See also:

• STEM (O. Eng. staefn, stemn, cf. Du. stain, Ger. Stamm, &c., probably related to " staff ")

stem or rhizome, perforating the See also:

• LEAF (O. Eng. leaf, cf. Dutch loof, Ger. Laub, Swed. lof, &c.; possibly to be referred to the root seen in Gr. Ma-eta, to peel, strip)

leaf-sheaths .

In some bamboos they are very numerous from the lower nodes of the erect culms, and pass downwards to the See also:

• SOIL

soil, whilst those from the upper nodes shrivel up and form circles of spiny fibres . Stem.—The underground stem or rootstock (rhizome) of perennial grasses is usually well See also:

• DEVELOPED

developed, and often forms very the last bearing aerial culms . Much reduced . long creeping or subterranean rhizomes, with elongated inter-nodes and sheathing scales; the widely-creeping, slender rhizomes in Marram-grass (Psamma), Agropyrum junceum, Elymus arenarius, and other See also:

• SAND
• SAND, GEORGE (1804-1876)

sand-loving plants render them useful as sand-binders . It is also frequently See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short, with the nodes crowded . The turf-formation, which is characteristic of open situations in cool temperate climates, results from an extensive See also:

• PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production of short stolons, the branches and the fibrous roots developed from their nodes forming the dense " sod." The very large rhizome of the bamboos (fig . 1) is also a striking example of " definite " growth; it is much branched, the short, thick, curved branches being given off below the See also:

• APEX

apex of the older ones and at right angles to them, the whole forming a See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of connected arched axes, truncate at their ends, which were formerly continued into leafy culms . The rhizome is always solid, and has the usual See also:

• INTERNAL

internal structure of the monocotyledonous stem . In the cases of branching just cited the branches break directly through the sheath of the leaf in connexion with which they arise . In other cases the branches grow upwards through the sheaths which they ultimately split from above, and emerging as aerial shoots give a tufted habit to the plant, . See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

Good examples are the See also:

• OAT (O. Eng. ate; the word is not found in cognate languages; it may be allied with Fr. eitel, knot, nodule, cf. Gr. oiSos swelling)

oat, See also:

• COCK, EDWARD (1805-1892)

cock's-See also:

• FOOT

foot (Dactylis) and other See also:

• BRITISH

British grasses . This mode of growth is the cause of the " tillering " of cereals, or the production of a large number of erect growing branches from the lower nodes of the See also:

• YOUNG
• YOUNG, A
• YOUNG, ARTHUR (1741-1820)
• YOUNG, BRIGHAM (1801-1877)
• YOUNG, CHARLES MAYNE (1777–1856)
• YOUNG, EDWARD (1683–1765)
• YOUNG, JAMES (1811-1883)
• YOUNG, THOMAS (1773-1829)

young stem .

Isolated tufts or tussocks are also characteristic of See also:

• STEPPE (from the Russ. stepi, a waste)

steppe—and See also:

• SAVANNA

savanna—vegetation and open places generally in the warmer parts of the See also:

• EARTH
• EARTH (a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Erde, Dutch aarde, Swed. and Dan. jord; outside Teutonic it appears only in the Gr. 'pq'e, on the ground; it has been connected by some etymologists with the Aryan root ar-, to plough, which is seen in
• EARTH, FIGURE OF
• EARTH, FIGURE OF THE

earth . The aerial leaf-bearing branches (culms) are a characteristic feature of grasses . They are generally numerous, erect, cylindrical (rarely flattened) and conspicuously jointed with evident nodes . The nodes are solid, a strong See also:

• PLATE

plate of See also:

• TISSUE (Fr. tissu, tissue, participle of tisser, Lat. texere, to weave)

tissue passing across the stem, but the internodes are commonly hollow, although examples of completely solid stems are not uncommon (e.g. maize, many Andropogons, sugar-cane) . The swollen nodes are a characteristic feature . In wheat, barley and most of the British native grasses they are a development, not of the See also:

• CULM

culm, but of the See also:

• BASE

base. of the leaf-sheath . The See also:

• FUNCTION

function of the nodes is to raise again culms which have become See also:

• BENT
• BENT (E1. BENI)
• BENT, JAMES THEODORE (1852–1897)

bent down; they are composed of highly turgescent tissue, the cells of which elongate on the See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

side next the earth when the culm is placed in a See also:

• HORIZONTAL

horizontal or oblique position, and thus raise the culm again to an erect position . The internodes continue to grow in length, especially the upper ones, for some See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time; the increase takes See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place in a See also:

• ZONE (Gr. 'WV77, a girdle, from 'wvvLvay to gird)

zone at the extreme base, just above the node . The exterior of the culms is more or less concealed by the leaf-sheaths; it is usually smooth and often highly polished, the epidermal cells containing an amount of See also:

• SILICA

silica sufficient to leave after burning a distinct See also:

• SKELETON

skeleton of their structure . Tabasheer is a See also:

• WHITE
• WHITE, ANDREW DICKSON (1832– )
• WHITE, GILBERT (1720–1793)
• WHITE, HENRY KIRKE (1785-1806)
• WHITE, HUGH LAWSON (1773-1840)
• WHITE, JOSEPH BLANCO (1775-1841)
• WHITE, RICHARD GRANT (1822-1885)
• WHITE, ROBERT (1645-1704)
• WHITE, SIR GEORGE STUART (1835– )
• WHITE, SIR THOMAS (1492-1567)
• WHITE, SIR WILLIAM ARTHUR (1824--1891)
• WHITE, SIR WILLIAM HENRY (1845– )
• WHITE, THOMAS (1628-1698)
• WHITE, THOMAS (c. 1550-1624)

white substance mainly composed of silica, found in the See also:

• JOINTS

joints of several bamboos . A few of the lower internodes may become enlarged and sub-globular, forming nutriment-stores, and grasses so characterized are termed " bulbous " (Arrhenatherum, Poa bulbosa, &c.) . In internal structure grass-culms, See also:

• SAVE, or SAVA (Ger. Sau; Hungarian Szdva; Lat. Savus)

save in being hollow, conform to that usual in monocotyledons; the vascular bundles run parallel in the internodes, but a horizontal interlacement occurs at the nodes .

In grasses of temperate climates branching is rare at the upper nodes of the culm, but it is characteristic of the bamboos and many tropical grasses . The branches are strictly distichous . In many bamboos they are long and spreading or drooping and copiously ramified, in others they are reduced to hooked spines . One genus (Dinochloa, a native of the See also:

• MALAY

Malay See also:

• ARCHIPELAGO

archipelago) is scandent, and climbs over trees too ft. or more in height, Olyra latifolia, a widely-spread tropical See also:

• SPECIES

species, is also a climber on a humbler See also:

• SCALE
• SCALE (1) A

scale . Grass-culms grow with great rapidity, as is most strikingly seen in bamboos, where a height of over too ft. is attained in from two to three months, and many species grow two, three or even more feet in twenty-four See also:

• HOURS, CANONICAL

hours . Silicic hardening does not begin till the full height is nearly attained . The largest See also:

• BAMBOO

bamboo recorded is 170 ft., and the See also:

• DIAMETER (from the Cr. &a, through, µErpov, measure)

diameter is usually reckoned at about 4 in. to each 50 ft . Leaves.— These See also:

• PRESENT

present See also:

• SPECIAL

special characters usually sufficient for ordinal determination . They are solitary a,t each node and arranged in two rows, the lower often crowded, forming a basal tuft . They consist of two distinct portions, the sheath and the blade . The sheath is often of great length, and generally completely surrounds the culm, forming a See also:

• FIRM

firm See also:

• PROTECTION

protection for the internode, the younger basal portion of which, including the zone of growth, remains See also:

• TENDER

tender for some time . As a See also:

• RULE

rule it is split down its whole length, thus differing from that of Cyperaceae which is almost invariably (Eriospora is an exception) a See also:

• COMPLETE

complete See also:

• TUBE (Lat. tuba)

tube; in some grasses, however (species of Poa, Bromus and others), the edges are See also:

• UNITED

united .

The sheaths are much dilated in Alopecurus vaginatus and in a species of Potamochloa, in the latter, an See also:

• EAST
• EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

East See also:

• INDIAN

Indian aquatic grass, serving as floats . At the See also:

• SUMMIT

summit of the sheath, above the origin of the blade, is the ligule, a usually membranous See also:

• PROCESS

process of small size (occasionally reaching t in. in length) erect and pressed ,around the culm . It is rarely quite absent, but may be represented by a tuft of hairs (very conspicuous in Pariana) . It serves to prevent See also:

• RAIN (O.E. regn; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Regen, Swed. and Dan. regn; it has been connected with Lat. rigare, to wet, Gr. 13pixeav)

rain-See also:

• WATER

water, which has run down the blade, from entering the sheath . Melica uniflora has in addition to the ligule, a green erect See also:

• TONGUE (O. Eng. lunge)

tongue-like process, from the See also:

• LINE

line of junction of the edges of the sheath . The blade is frequently wanting or small and imperfect in the basal leaves, but in the See also:

• REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest is long and set on to the sheath at an See also:

• ANGLE (from the Lat. angulus, a corner, a diminutive, of which the primitive form, angus, does not occur in Latin; cognate are the Lat. angere, to compress into a bend or to strangle, and the Gr. ayKOS, a bend; both connected with the Aryan root ank-, to

angle . The usual form is familiar—sessile, more or less ribbon-shaped, tapering to a point, and entire at the edge . The See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief modifications are the See also:

• ARTICULATION (from Lat. articulare, to divide into joints)

articulation of the See also:

• DECIDUOUS (from Lat. decidere, to fall down)

deciduous I connecting See also:

• VEINS

veins . The blade on to the sheath, which occurs in all the Bambuseae (except Planotia) and in Spartina stricta; and the interposition of a petiole between the sheath and the blade, as in bamboos, Leptaspis, Pharus, Pariana, Lophatherum and others . In the latter See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case the leaf usually becomes See also:

• OVAL (Lat. ovum, egg)

oval, ovate or even cordate or sagittate, but these forms are found in sessile leaves also (Olyra, Panicum) . The venation is strictly parallel, the midrib usually strong, and the other ribs more slender . In Anomochloa there are several nearly equal ribs and in some broad-leaved grasses (Bambuseae, Pharus, Leptaspis) the venation becomes tesselated by transverse tissue is often raised above the veins, form- See also:

• ING

ing See also:

• LONGITUDINAL

longitudinal ridges, upper See also:

• FACE (from Lat. fades, derived either from facere, to make, or from a root fa-, meaning " appear "; cf. Gr. cbatvstv)

face bears furrows, at the bottom furrows .

The thick See also:

• PRO

pro-of each of which are seen the motor minent veins in Agrocells m. pyrum occupy the whole upper See also:

• SURFACE

surface of the leaf . Epidermal appendages are rare, the most frequent being marginal, saw-like, cartilaginous See also:

• TEETH (O.E. Eel); plural of tooth, O.E. top)

teeth, usually See also:

• MINUTE
• MINUTE (Lat. minutes, small; minuere, to make less)

minute, but occasionally . (Danthonia scabra, Panicum serratum) so large as to give the margin a serrate appearance . The leaves are occasionally woolly, as in Alopecurus lanatus and one or two Panicums . The blade is often See also:

• TWISTED

twisted, frequently so much so that the upper and under faces become reversed . In dry-See also:

• COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country grasses the See also:

• BLADES, WILLIAM (1824-1890)

blades are often folded on the midrib, or rolled up . The See also:

• ROLLING

rolling is effected by bands of large See also:

• WEDGE (O. Eng. wecg, a mass of metal, cognate with Dutch wig, wigge, Dan. vaegge, &c.; in Lith. the cognate form outside Teut. is found in wagis, a peg, spigot; there is no connexion with " weigh," " weight," which must be referred to the root wegh, to li

wedge-shaped cells—motor-cells—between the nerves, the loss of turgescence by which, as the See also:

• AIR (from an Indo-European root meaning " breathe," " blow ")
• AIR, or ASBEN

air dries, causes the blade to curl towards the face on which they occur . The rolling up acts as a protection from too great loss of water, the exposed surface being specially protected to this end by a strong cuticle, the majority or all of the stomata occurring on the protected surface . The stiffness of the blade, which becomes very marked in dry-country grasses, is due to the development of girders of thick-walled See also:

• MECHANICAL

mechanical tissue which follow the course of all or the principal veins (fig . 2) . Inflorescence.—This possesses an exceptional importance in grasses, since, their floral envelopes being much reduced and the sexual See also:

• ORGANS

organs of very great uniformity, the characters employed for classification are mainly derived from the arrangement of the flowers and their investing bracts . Various interpretations have been given to these glumaceous organs and different terms employed for them by various writers .

It may, however, be spikelet of Agrostis. of Aira . b, Barren glumes; f, flowering glumes . (Both enlarged.) considered as settled that the whole of. the bodies known as glumes and paleae, and distichously arranged externally to the flower, form no part of the floral envelopes, but are of the nature of bracts . These are arranged so as to form spikelets (locustae), and each spikelet may contain one, as in Agrostis (fig . 3) two, as in Aira (fig . 4) three, or a great number of flowers, as in Briza (fig . 5) Triticum (fig . 6); in some species of Eragrostis there are nearly 6o . The flowers are, as a rule, placed laterally on the See also:

• AXIS (Lat. for " axle ")

axis(rachilla)of the spikelet, but in one-flowered spikelets they appear to be terminal, and are probably really so in Anthoxanthum (fig . 7) and in two anomalous genera, Anomochloa and Streptochaeta . In immediate relation with the flower itself, and often entirely concealing it, is the palea or See also:

• PALE (through Fr. pal, from Lat. palms, a stake, for paglus, from the stem pag- of pangere, to fix; " pole " is from the same original source)

pale (" upper pale " of most systematic agrostologists) . This See also:

• ORGAN

organ (fig .

13, r) is See also:

• PECULIAR

peculiar to grasses Fin . 5.-Spikelet of Briza . FIG . 6.-Spikelet of Triticum . (Both enlarged.) among Glumiflorae (the series to which belong the two families Gramineae and Cyperaceae), and is almost always present, certain Oryzeae and Phalarideae being the only exceptions . It is of thin membranous consistence, usually obtuse, often bifid, and possesses no central rib or See also:

• NERVE (Lat. nervus, Gr. vevpov, a bowstring)

nerve, but has two lateral ones, one on either side; the margins are frequently folded in at the ribs, which thus become placed at the See also:

• SHARP, GRANVILLE (1735-1813)
• SHARP, JAMES (1618-1679)
• SHARP, JOHN (1645-1714)
• SHARP, RICHARD (1759-1835)
• SHARP, WILLIAM (1749-1824)
• SHARP, WILLIAM (1856-1905)

sharp angles . This structure was formerly regarded as pointing to the See also:

• FUSION

fusion of two organs, and the pale was considered by See also:

• ROBERT
• ROBERT (1275—1343)
• ROBERT, HUBERT (1753-1808)
• ROBERT, LOUIS LEOPOLD (1794-1835)

Robert See also:

• BROWN
• BROWN, CHARLES BROCKDEN (1771-181o)
• BROWN, FORD MADOX (1821-1893)
• BROWN, FRANCIS (1849- )
• BROWN, GEORGE (1818-188o)
• BROWN, HENRY KIRKE (1814-1886)
• BROWN, JACOB (1775–1828)
• BROWN, JOHN (1715–1766)
• BROWN, JOHN (1722-1787)
• BROWN, JOHN (1735–1788)
• BROWN, JOHN (1784–1858)
• BROWN, JOHN (1800-1859)
• BROWN, JOHN (1810—1882)
• BROWN, JOHN GEORGE (1831— )
• BROWN, ROBERT (1773-1858)
• BROWN, SAMUEL MORISON (1817—1856)
• BROWN, SIR GEORGE (1790-1865)
• BROWN, SIR JOHN (1816-1896)
• BROWN, SIR WILLIAM, BART
• BROWN, THOMAS (1663-1704)
• BROWN, THOMAS (1778-1820)
• BROWN, THOMAS EDWARD (1830-1897)
• BROWN, WILLIAM LAURENCE (1755–1830)

Brown to represent two portions soldered together of a trimerous perianth - whorl, the third portion being the " lower pale." The pale is now generally considered to represent the single bracteole, characteristic of Monocotyledons, the binerved structure being the result of the pressure of the axis of the spikelet during the development of the pale, as in See also:

• IRIS

Iris and others . The flower with its pale is sessile, and is placed in the axil of another bract in such a way that the pale is exactly opposed to it, though at a slightly higher level . It is this second bract or flowering glume which has been generally called by systematists the " lower pale," and with the " upper pale " was formerly considered to form an See also:

• OUTER

outer floral envelope (" calyx," See also:

• JUSSIEU, DE

Jussieu; " perianthium," Brown) . The two bracts are, however, on different axes, one secondary to the other, and cannot therefore be parts of one whorl of organs . They are usually quite unlike one another, but in some genera (e.g. most Festuceae) are very similar in shape and appearance . The flowering glume has generally a more or less See also:

• BOAT (0. Eng. bdt; the true etymological connexion with Dutch and Ger. boot, Fr. bateau, Ital. battello presents great difficulties; Celtic forms are from O. Eng.)

boat-shaped form, is of firm consistence, and possesses a well-marked central midrib and frequently several lateral ones .

The midrib in a large proportion of genera extends into an appendage termed the awn (fig . 4), and the lateral veins more rarely extend beyond the glume as sharp points (e.g . Pappophorum) . The form of the flowering glume is very various, this organ being plastic and extensively modified in different genera . It frequently extends downwards a little on the rachilla, forming with the latter a swollen callus, which is separated from the See also:

• FREE

free portion by a furrow . In Leptaspis it is formed into a closed cavity by the See also:

• UNION
• UNION (known locally as Union Hill and officially as Town of Union)

union of its edges, and encloses the flower, the styles projecting through the pervious summit . Valuable characters for distinguishing genera are obtained from the awn . This presents itself variously developed from a See also:

• MERE
• MERE, ADALBERT (1838-1909)

mere subulate point to an organ several inches in length, and when complete (as in Andropogoneae, Aveneae and Stipeae) consists of two well-marked portions, a lower twisted part and a terminal straight portion, usually set in at an angle with the former, sometimes trifid and occasionally beautifully feathery (fig . 8) . The lower part is most often suppressed, and in the large group of the Paniceae awns of any sort are very rarely seen . The awn may be either terminal or may come off from the back of the flowering glume, and See also:

• DUVAL, ALEXANDRE VINCENT
• DUVAL, CLAUDE (1643–1670)

Duval Jouve's observations have shown that it represents the blade of the leaf of which the portion of the flowering glume below its origin is the sheath; the twisted part (so often suppressed) corresponds with the petiole, and the portion of the glume extending beyond the origin of the awn (very long in some species, e.g. of Danthonia) with the ligule of the developed foliage-leaf . When terminal the awn has three fibro-vascular bundles, when dorsal only one; it is covered with stomate-bearing epidermis .

The flower with its palea is thus sessile in the axil of a floriferous glume, and in a few grasses (Leersia (fig . 9), Coleanthus, Nardus) the spikelet consists of nothing more, but usually (even in uniflorous spikelets) other glumes are present . Of these the two placed distichously opposite each other at the base of the spikelet never See also:

• BEAR
• BEAR, BLACK
• BEAR, BROWN
• BEAR, GRIZZLY
• BEAR, ISABELLINE
• BEAR, WHITE

bear any flower in their axils, and are called the empty or barren glumes (See also:

• FIGS

figs . 3, 8) . They are the " glumes of most writers, and together form what was called the " gluma " by R . Brown . .They rarely differ much from one another, but one may be smaller or quite absent (Panicum, Setaria (fig . Io), Pas- palum, Lolium), or both be altogether suppressed, as above noticed . They are commonly firm and strong, often enclose the spikelet, and are rarely provided with long points or imperfect awns . Gener- ally speaking they do not See also:

• SHARE (O. Eng. scearu, chiefly in compounds, e.g. land-scearu, a share of land, from sceran to cut; cf. " shear" )

share in the special modifications of the flowering glumes, and rarely themselves undergo modification, chiefly in hardening of portions (Sclerachne, Manisuris, Anthe- See also:

• PHORA

phora, Peltophorum), so as to afford greater protection to the flowers or See also:

• FRUIT (through the French from the Lat. fructus; frui, to enjoy)

fruit . But it is usual to find, besides the basal glumes, a few other empty ones, and these are in two- or more-flowered spikelets (see Triticum, fig . 6) at the See also:

• TOP (cf. Dan. top, Ger. Topf, also meaning pot)

top of the rhachilla (numerous in Lophatherum), or in uniflorous ones (fig. ro) below and interposed between the floral glume and the basal pair .

The axis of the spikelet is frequently jointed and breaks up into articulations above each flower . Tufts or See also:

• BORDERS, THE

borders of hairs are frequently present (Calamagrostis, Phragmites, Andropogon), and are often so long as to surround and conceal the flowers (fig . II) . The axis is often continued beyond the last flower or glume as a bristle or stalk . Involucres or organs outside the spikelets also occur, and areformed in various ways . Thus in Setaria (fig . Io), Pennisetum, &c., the one or more circles of See also:

• SIMPLE

simple or feathery hairs represent abortive branches of the inflorescence; in Cenchrus (fig . 12) these become consolidated, and the inner ones flattened so as to form a very hard globular spiny case to the spikelets . The See also:

• CUP (in O.E. cuppe; generally taken to be from Late Lat. cuppa, a variant of Lat. cupa, a cask, cf. Gr. KuaeXXov)

cup-shaped involucre of Cornucopia is a See also:

• DILATATION (from Lat. dis-, distributive, and lotus, wide)

dilatation of the axis into a hollow receptacle with a raised border . In Cynosurus (See also:

• DOG

Dog's tail) the pectinate involucre which See also:

• CON

con- d_ ceals the spikelet is a barren or abortive spikelet . Bracts of a more general See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character subtending branches c of the inflorescence are singularly rare in Gramineae, in marked contrast with Cyperaceae, where they are so conspicuous . They however occur in a whole See also:

• SECTION
• SECTION (Lat. sectio, cutting, secare, to cut)

section of Andropogon, in Anomochloa, and at the base of the spike in Sesleria .

The remarkable ovoid involucre of Coix, which be-comes of stony hardness, white and polished (then known as " See also:

• JOB

Job's tears," q.v.), is also a modified bract or leaf-sheath . It is closed except at the apex, . and contains the See also:

• FEMALE

female spikelet, the stalks of the male inflorescence and the long styles emerging through the small apical orifice . Any number of spikelets may compose the inflorescence, and their arrangement is very various . In the spicate forms, with sessile spikelets on the See also:

• MAIN (from the Aryan root which appears in " may " and " might," and Lat. magnus, great)
• MAIN (Lat. Moenus)

main axis, the latter is often dilated and flattened (Paspalum), or is more or less thickened and hollowed out (Stenotaphrum, Rottboellia, Tripsacum), when the spikelets are sunk and buried within the cavities . Every variety of racemose and paniculate inflorescence obtains, and the number of spikelets composing those of the large kinds is often immense . Rarely the inflorescence consists of very few flowers; thus Lygeum FIG . 12.—Spikelet Spartum, the most anomalous of European of Cenchrus echinatus grasses, has but two or three large uni- enclosed in a bristly fiorous spikelets, which are fused together involucre . at the base, and have no basal glumes, but are enveloped in a large, hooded, spathe-like bract . Flower.—T his is characterized by remarkable uniformity . The perianth is represented by very rudimentary, small, fleshy scales arising below the ovary, called lodicules; they are elongated palea p; 2, Poa; 3, Oryza; 1, Lodicule . or truncate, sometimes fringed with hairs, and are in contact with the ovary . Their usual number is two, and they are placed collaterally at the anterior side of the flower (fig .

13,) that is, within the flowering glume . They are generally considered to represent the inner whorl of the See also:

• ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary monocotyledonous pale. ing glume; p, pale . a a, b, Barren glumes . c, c, Fertile glumes, each enclosing one flower with its pale d . See also:

• NOTE
• NOTE (Lat. nota, mark, sign, from noscere, to know)

Note the zigzag axis (rhachilla) bearing long silky hairs . (liliaaeous) perianth, the outer whorl of these being suppressed the posterior member of the inner See also:

• ROW, JOHN (c. 1525—1580)

row of the perianth-leaves, of as well as the posterior member of the inner whorl, This latter is present almost constantly in Stipeae and Bambuseae, which have three lodicules, and in the latter group they are occasionally more numerous . In Anomochloa they are represented by hairs . In Streptochaeta there are six lodicules, alternately arranged in two whorls . Sometimes, as in Anthoxanthum, they are absent . In Melica there is one large anterior lodicule resulting presumably from the union of the two which are present in allied genera . See also:

• PROFESSOR (the Latin noun formed from the verb profiteri, to declare publicly, to acknowledge, profess)

Professor E . Hackel, however, regards this as an undivided second pale, which in the majority of the grasses is split in halves, and the posterior lodicule, when present, as a third pale .

On this view the grass-flower has no perianth . The function of the lodicules is the separation of the pale and glume to allow the protrusion of stamens and stigmas; they effect this by swelling and thus exerting pressure on the base of these two structures . Where, as in Anthoxanthum, there are no lodicules, pale and glume do not become laterally separated, and the stamens and stigmas protrude only at the apex of the floret (fig . 7) . Grass-flowers are usually hermaphrodite, but there are very many exceptions . Thus it is common to find one or more, imperfect (usually male) flowers in the same spikelet with bisexual ones, and their relative position is important in classification . Holcus and Arrhenatherum are examples in See also:

• ENGLISH

English grasses; and as a rule in species of temperate regions separation of the sexes is not carried further . In warmer countries monoecious and dioecious grasses are more frequent . In such cases the male and female spikelets and inflorescence may be very dissimilar, as in maize, Job's tears, Euchlaena, Spinifex, &c.; and in some dioecious species this dissimilarity has led to the two sexes being referred to different genera (e.g . Anthephara axilliflora is the female of Buchloe dactyloides, and Neurachne paradoxa of a species of Spinifex) . In other grasses, however, with the sexes in different plants (e.g . Brizopyrum, Dislichlis, ,Eragrostis capitatca, Gynerium), no such dimorphism obtains .

Amphicarpum is remarkable in having cleistogamic flowers See also:

• BORNE, KARL LUDWIG (1786–1837)

borne on long See also:

• RADICAL (Lat. radix, a root)

radical subterranean peduncles which are fertile, whilst the conspicuous upper paniculate ones, though apparently perfect, never produce fruit . Something similar occurs in Leersia oryzoides, where the fertile spikelets are concealed within the leaf-sheaths . Androecium.—In the vast majority there are three stamens alternating with the lodicules, and therefore one anterior, i.e. opposite the flowering glume, the other two being posterior and in contact with the palea (fig . 13, r and 2) . They are hypogynous, and have long and very delicate filaments, and large, linear or oblong two-celled anthers, dorsifixed and ultimately very versatile, deeply' indented at each end, and commonly exserted and pendulous . Suppression of the anterior stamen sometimes occurs (e.g . Anthoxanthum, fig . 7), or the two posterior ones may be absent (Uniola, See also:

• CINNA
• CINNA, GAIUS HELVIUS

Cinna, Phippsia, Festuca bromoides) . There is in some genera (Oryza, most Bambuseae) another row of three stamens, making six in all (fig . 13, 3); and Anomochloa and Tetrarrhena possess four . The stamens become numerous (ten to See also:

• FORTY

forty) in the male flowers of a few monoecious genera (Pariana, Lusiola) . In Ochlandra they vary from seven to See also:

• THIRTY

thirty, and in Gigantochloa they are monadelphous .

Gynoecium.—The See also:

• PISTIL

pistil consists of a single carpel, opposite the pale in the median See also:

• PLANE

plane of the spikelet . The ovary is small, rounded to elliptical, and one-celled, and contains a single slightly bent ovule sessile on the ventral suture (that is, springing from the back of the ovary); the micropyle points downwards . It bears usually two lateral styles which are quite distinct or connate at the base, sometimes for a greater length (fig . 14, r), each ends in a densely hairy or feathery stigma (fig . 14) . Occasionally there is but a single See also:

• STYLE
• STYLE (from Gr. a-6'1ms, a column; a different word from that used in literature, see below)

style, as in Nardus (fig . 14, 7), which corresponds to the midrib of the carpel . The very long and apparently simple stigma of maize arises from the union of two . Many of the bamboos have a third, anterior, style . Comparing the flower of Gramineae with the general monocotyledonous plan as represented by See also:

• LILIACEAE

Liliaceae and other families (fig. r 5), it will be seen to differ in the See also:

• ABSENCE (Lat. absentia)

absence of the outer row and the whole inner row of stamens, and of the two lateral carpels, flower . r, Actual See also:

• CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition ; d, Outer row of See also:

• PERI, JACOPO (1561–16 ?)

peri- 2, Theoretical, with anth leaves . the suppressed e, Inner row .

organs supplied. f, Outer row o f a, Axis. stamens . b, Flowering glume. g, Inner row . c, Palea. h, Pistil . Fro . 14.-Pistils of Grasses (much enlarged). r, Alopecurus; 2 . Bromus; 3, Arrhenatherum; 4, Glyceria; 5, Melica; 6, Mibora; 7, Nardus . whilst the remaining members of the perianth are in a rudimentary condition . But each or any of the usually missing are to be found normally in different genera, or as occasional developments . See also:

• POLLINATION

Pollination.— . Grasses are generally See also:

• WIND
• WIND (a common Teut. word, cognate with Skt. vats, Lat. ventus, cf. " weather," to be of course distinguished from to " wind," to coil or twist, O.Eng. windan, cf. "wander," "wend," &c.)

wind - pollinated, though self-fertilization some-times occurs . A few species, as we have seen, are monoecious or dioecious, while many are polygamous (having unisexual as well as bisexual flowers as in many members of the tribes Andropogoneae, fig . 18, and Paniceae), and in these the male flower of a spikelet always blooms later than the hermaphrodite, so that its See also:

• POLLEN, AUGUST (or, as he afterwards called himself, ADOLF) LUDWIG (1794-1855)

pollen can only effect See also:

• CROSS

cross-fertilization upon other spikelets in the same or another plant .

Of those with only bisexual flowers, many are strongly protogynous (the stigmas protruding before the anthers are ripe), such as Alopecurus and Anthoxanthum (fig . 7), but generally the anthers protrude first and See also:

• DISCHARGE (adapted from the O. Fr. discharge, modern decharge, from a med. Lat. discargare, to unload, dis- and earn care, to load, cf. " charge ")

discharge the greater part of their pollen before the stigmas appear . The filaments elongate rapidly at flowering-time, and the lightly versatile anthers empty an abundance of finely granular smooth pollen through a longitudinal slit . Some flowers, such as rye, have lost the See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power of effective self-fertilization, but in most cases both forms, self- and cross-fertilization, seem to be possible . Thus the species of wheat are usually self-fertilized, but cross-fertilization is possible since the glurnes are open above, the stigmas project laterally, and the anthers empty only about one-third of their pollen in their own flower and the rest into the air . In some cultivated races of barley, cross-fertilization is precluded, as the flowers never open . Reference has already been made to cleistogamic species which occur in several genera . Fruit and See also:

• SEED (from the root seen in Lat. serere, to sow)

Seed.—The ovary ripens into a usually small ovoid or rounded fruit, which is entirely occupied by the single large seed, from which it is not to be distinguished, the thin pericarp being completely united to its surface . To this peculiar fruit the See also:

• TERM

term caryopsis has been applied (more familiarly " See also:

• GRAIN (derived through the French from Lat. granum, seed, from an Aryan root meaning " to wear down," which also appears in the common Teutonic word " corn ")

grain "); it is commonly furrowed longitudinally down one side (usually the inner, but in Coix and its allies, the outer), and an additional covering is not unfrequently provided by the adherence of the persistent palea, or even also of the flowering organs a •a C glume (" See also:

• CHAFF (from the A.S. ceaf, allied to the O. High Ger. cheva, a husk or pod)

chaff "of cereals) . From this type are a few deviations; thus in Sporobolus, &c . (fig . 16), the pericarp is not united with the seed but is quite distinct, dehisces, and allows the loose seed to See also:

• ESCAPE (in mid. Eng. eschape or escape, from the O. Fr. eschapper, modern echapper, and escaper, low Lat. escapium, from ex, out of, and cappa, cape, cloak; cf. for the sense development the Gr. iichueoOat, literally to put off one's clothes, hence to sli

escape .

Sometimes the pericarp is membranous, sometimes hard, forming a See also:

• NUT
• NUT (0. Eng. knutu, cf. Dutch noot, Ger. Nuss; allied with Gael. cno; it is not of the same form as Lat. nux)

nut, as in some genera of Bambuseae, while in other Bambuseae it becomes thick and fleshy, forming a See also:

• BERRY, CHARLES ALBERT (1852-1899)
• BERRY, CHARLES FERDINAND
• BERRY, JOHN, DUKE OF (1340-1416)
• BERRY, or BERRI

berry often as large as an See also:

• APPLE (a common Teut. word, A.S. aepl, aeppel, O.H.G. aphul, aphal, apfal, mod. Ger. Apfel)

apple . In Melocanna the berry forms an edible fruit 3 or 4 in. long, with a pointed See also:

• BEAK (early forms beke and becke, from Fr. bec, late Lat. beccus, supposed to be a Gaulish word; the Celtic bec and beq, however, are taken from the English)

beak of 2 in. more; it is indehiscent, and the small seed germinates whilst the fruit is still attached to the tree, putting out a tuft of roots FIG . 16.- and a shoot, and not falling till the latter is 6 in . Fruit ofSporo- long . The position of the embryo is plainly bolus, showing visible on the front side at the base of the grain. the dehiscent On the other, posterior, side of the grain is a pericarp and more or less evident, sometimes punctiform, seed. sometimes elongated or linear mark, the hilum, the place where the ovule was fastened to the See also:

• WALL (O. Eng. weal, weall, Mid. Eng. wal, wane, adapted from Lat. vallum, rampart; the original O. Eng. word for a wall was wag or tenth)
• WALL, RICHARD (1694-1778)

wall of the ovary . The form of the hilum is See also:

• CONSTANT, BENJAMIN (1845-1902)

constant throughout a genus, and sometimes also in whole tribes . The testa is thin and membranous but occasionally coloured, and the embryo small, the great bulk of the seed being occupied by the hard farinaceous endosperm (albumen) on which the nutritive value of the grain depends . The outermost layer of endosperm, the aleuron-layer, consists of See also:

• REGULAR

regular cells filled with small proteid granules; the rest is made up of large polygonal cells containing numerous See also:

• STARCH

starch-grains in a See also:

• MATRIX

matrix of proteid which may be continuous (horny endosperm) or granular (mealy endosperm) . The embryo presents many points of See also:

• INTEREST

interest . Its position is remarkable, closely applied to the surface of the endosperm at the base of its outer side . This character is See also:

• ABSOLUTE (Lat. absolvere, to loose, set free)

absolute for the whole See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order, and effectually separates Gramineae from Cyperaceae . The part in contact with the endosperm is plate-like, and is known as the scutellum; the surface in contact with the endosperm forms an absorptive epithelium .

In some grasses there is a small scale-like appendage opposite the scutellum, the epiblast . There is some difference of See also:

• OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion as to which structure or structures represent the cotyledon . Three must be considered: (1) the scutellum, connected by vascular tissue with the vascular See also:

• CYLINDER (Gr. KvAwSpos, from KvXivaety, to roll)

cylinder of the main axis of the embryo which it more or less envelops; it never leaves the seed, serving merely to prepare and absorb the See also:

• FOOD
• FOOD (like the verb " to feed," from a Teutonic root, whence O. Eng. foda; cf. " fodder "; connected with Gr. lrareicOae, to feed)

food-stuff in the endosperm; (2) the cellular outgrowth of the axis, the epiblast, small and inconspicuous as in wheat, or larger as in Stipa; (3) the pileole or germ-sheath, arising on the same side of the axis and above the scutellum, enveloping the plumule in the seed and appearing above ground as a generally colourless sheath from the apex of which the plumule ultimately breaks (fig . 17,4,b) . The development of these structures (which was investigated by See also:

• VAN

van Tieghem), especially in relation to the origin of the vascular bundles which See also:

• SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply them, favours the view that the scutellum and pileole are, highly differentiated parts of a single cotyledon,and this view is in See also:

• ACCORD (from Fr. accorder, to agree)

accord with a See also:

• COMPARATIVE

comparative study of the seedling of grasses and of other monocotyledons . The epiblast has been regarded as representing a second cotyledon, but this is a very doubtful See also:

• INTERPRETATION (from Lat. interpretari, to expound, explain, inter pres, an agent, go-between, interpreter; inter, between, and the root pret-, possibly connected with that seen either in Greek 4 p4'ew, to speak, or irpa-rrecv, to do)

interpretation . Germination.—In germination the coleorhiza lengthens, ruptures the pericarp, and fixes the grain to the ground bydeveloping numerous hairs . The radicle then breaks through the coleorhiza, as do also the secondary rootlets where, as in the case of many cereals, these have been formed in the embryo (fig . 17, 4) . The germ-sheath grows vertically upwards, its stiff apex pushing through the soil, while the plumule is hidden in its hollow interior . Finally the plumule escapes, its leaves successively breaking through at the tip of the germ-sheath . The scutellum meanwhile feeds the developing embryo from the endosperm .

The growth of the See also:

• PRIMARY

primary root is limited; sooner or later See also:

• ADVENTITIOUS (from Lat. adventicius, coming from abroad)

adventitious roots develop from the axis above the radicle which they ultimately exceed in growth . Means of See also:

• DISTRIBUTION (Lat. distribuere, to deal out)

Distribution.—Various methods of scattering the grain have been adopted, in which parts of the spikelet or in-florescence are concerned . Short spikes may fall from the culm as a whole; or the axis of a spike or raceme is jointed so that one spikelet falls with each See also:

• JOINT (through Fr. from Lat. junctum, jungere, to join)

joint as in many Andropogoneae and Hordeae . In many-flowered spikelets the rachilla is often jointed and breaks into as many pieces as there are fruits, each piece bearing a glume and pale . One-flowered spikelets may fall as a whole (as in the tribes Paniceae and Andropogoneae), or the axis is jointed above the barren glumes so that only the flowering glume and pale fall with the fruit . These arrangements are, with few exceptions, lacking in cultivated cereals though present in their See also:

• WILD, JONATHAN (c. 1682-1725)

wild forms, so far as these are known . Such arrangements are disadvantageous for the complete gathering of the fruit, and therefore varieties in which they are not present would be preferred for cultivation . The persistent bracts (glume and pale) afford an additional protection to the fruit; they protect the embryo, which is near the surface, from too rapid wetting and, when once soaked, from drying up again . They also decrease the specific gravity, so that the grain is more readily carried by the wind, especially when, as in Briza, the glume has a large surface compared with the size of the grain, or when, as in Holcus, empty glumes also take part; in See also:

• CANARY
• CANARY (Serinus canarius)

Canary grass (See also:

• PHALARIS

Phalaris) the large empty glumes bear a membranous wing on the See also:

• KEEL

keel . In the sugar-cane (Saccharum) and several allied genera the separating joints of the axis bear long hairs below the spikelets; in others, as in Arundo (a See also:

• REED
• REED, ANDREW (1787-1862)
• REED, ISAAC (1742—1807)
• REED, JOSEPH (1741—1785)
• REED, THOMAS BRACKETT (1839—1902)

reed-grass), the flowering glumes are enveloped in long hairs . The awn which is frequently borne on the flowering glume is also a very efficient means of distribution, catching into See also:

• FUR (connected with O. Fr. forre, a sheath or case; so " an outer covering ")

fur of animals or plumage of birds, or as often in Stipa (fig . 8) forming a long See also:

• FEATHER (0. Eng. (ether, Ger. Feder, from an Indo-European root seen also in Gr. lrrepov, and aEreo-Oat, to fly)

feather for wind-See also:

• CARRIAGE

carriage .

In Tragus the glumes bear numerous short hooked bristles . The fleshy berries of some Bambuseae favour distribution by animals . The awn is also of use in burying the fruit in the soil . Thus in Stipa, species of Avena, Heteropogon and others the base of the glume forms a sharp point which will easily penetrate the ground; above the point are short stiff upwardly pointing hairs which oppose its withdrawal . The long awn, which is bent and closely twisted below the See also:

• BEND

bend, acts as a See also:

• DRIVING (from " to drive," i.e. generally to propel, force along or in, a word common in various forms to the Teutonic languages)

driving organ; it is very hygroscopic, the coils untwisting when See also:

• DAMP

damp and twisting up when dry . The repeated twisting and untwisting, especially when the upper part of the awn has become fixed in the earth or caught in surrounding vegetation, drives the point deeper and deeper into the ground . Such grasses often cause harm to See also:

• SHEEP
• SHEEP (from the Anglo-Saxon sceap, a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages; e.g. the German Schaf)

sheep by catching in the See also:

• WOOL, WORSTED AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES

wool and See also:

• BORING

boring through the skin . A peculiar method of distribution occurs in some alpine and See also:

• ARCTIC (Gr. "ApKroc, the Bear, the northern constellation of Ursa Major)

arctic grasses, which grow under conditions where ripening of the fruit is often uncertain . The entire spikelet, or single flowers, are transformed into small-leaved shoots which fall from the axes and readily root in the ground . Some species, such as Poa stricta, are known only in this viviparous condition; others, like our British species Festuca ovina and Poa alpina, become viviparous under the special See also:

• CLIMATIC

climatic conditions . II . CLAssIFIcArloN.—Gramineae are sharply defined from all other plants, and there are no genera as to which it is possible to feel a doubt whether they should be referred to it or not .

The only family closely allied is Cyperaceae, and the points of difference between the two may be here brought together . The best distinctions are found in the position of the embryo in relation to the endosperm—lateral in grasses, basal in Cyperaceae —and in the See also:

• POSSESSION
• POSSESSION (Lat. possessio, possidere, to possess)

possession by Gramineae of the 2-nerved palea below each flower . Less absolute characters, but generally trustworthy and more easily observed, are the feathery stigmas, the always distichous arrangement of the glumes, the usual absence of more general bracts in the inflorescence, the split leaf-sheaths, and the hollow, cylindrical, jointed culms—some or all of which are wanting in all Cyperaceae . The same characters will distinguish grasses from the other glumiferous orders, Restiaceae, and Eriocaulonaceae, which are besides further removed by their capsular fruit and pendulous ovules . To other monocotyledonous families the resemblances are merely of adaptive or vegetative characters . Some Commelinaceae and Marantaceae approach grasses in foliage; the leaves of See also:

• ALLIUM (Lat. for " garlic ")

Allium, &c., possess a ligule; the habit of some palms reminds one of the bamboos; and Juncaceae and a few Liliaceae possess an inconspicuous scarious perianth . There are about 30o genera containing about 3500 well-defined species . The great uniformity among the very numerous species of this vast family renders its classification very difficult . The difficulty has been increased by the confusion resulting from the multiplication of genera founded on slight characters, and from the description (in consequence of their wide distribution) of identical plants under several different genera . No characters for main divisions can be obtained from the flower proper or fruit (with the exception of the character of the hilum), and it has therefore been found necessary to See also:

• TRUST

trust to characters derived from the usually less important inflorescence and bracts . Robert Brown suggested two primary divisions—Paniceae and Poaceae, according to the position of the most perfect flower in the spikelet; this is the upper (apparently) terminal one in the first, whilst in the second it occupies the lower position, the more imperfect ones (if any) being above it . See also:

• MUNRO, HUGH ANDREW JOHNSTONE (1819-1885)
• MUNRO, MUNRO
• MUNRO, SIR HECTOR (1726-1805)
• MUNRO, SIR THOMAS (1761-1827)

Munro supplemented this by another character easier of verification, and of even greater constancy, in the articulation of the pedicel in the Paniceae immediately below the glumes; whilst in Poaceae this does not occur, but the axis of the spikelet frequently articulates above the pair of empty basal glumes .

Neither of these great divisions will well accommodate certain genera allied to Phalaris, for which Brown proposed tentatively a third group (since named Phalarideae); this, or at least the greater part of it, is placed by See also:

• BENTHAM, GEORGE (1800-1884)
• BENTHAM, JEREMY (1748-1832)

Bentham under the Poaceae . The following arrangement has been proposed by Professor Eduard Hackel in his See also:

• RECENT

recent monograph on the order . A . Spikelets one-flowered, rarely two-flowered as in Zea, falling from the pedicel entire or with certain joints of the rachis at maturity . Rachilla not produced beyond the flowers . a . Hilum a point; spikelets not laterally compressed . a Fertile glume and pale hyaline; empty glumes thick, membranous to coriaceous or cartilaginous, the lowest the largest . Rachis generally jointed and breaking up when mature . 1 . Spikelets unisexual, male and female in See also:

• SEPARATE

separate inflorescences or on different parts of the same inflorescence . I .

Maydeae . 2 . Spikelets bisexual, or male and bisexual, each male See also:

• STANDING

standing close to a bisexual . 2 . Andropogoneae . if) Fertile glume and pale cartilaginous, coriaceous or papery; empty glumes more delicate, usually herbaceous, the lowest usually smallest . Spikelets falling singly from the unjointed rachis of the spike or the ultimate branches of the panicle . 3 . Paniceae . b . Hilum a line; spikelets laterally compressed . 4 .

Qryzeae . B . Spikelets one- to indefinite-flowered; in the one-flowered the rachilla frequently produced beyond the flower; rachilla generally jointed above the empty glumes, which remain after the fruiting glumes have fallen . When more than one-flowered, distinct inter-nodes are developed between the flowers . a . Culm herbaceous, annual; leaf-blade sessile, and not jointed to the sheath . a Spikelets upon distinct pedicels and arranged in panicles or racemes . I . Spikelets one-flowered . i . Empty glumes 4 . 5 .

Phalarideae . ii . Empty glumes 2 . 6 . Agrostideae.II . Spikelets more than one-flowered . i . Fertile glumes generally shorter than the empty glumes, usually with a bent awn on the back . 7 . Aveneae . ii . Fertile glumes generally longer than the empty, unawned or with a straight, terminal awn .

9 . Festuceae . Spikelets crowded in two