singly and spirally, or without any definite order, directly from the main axis, with the production of a _cylindrical_ inflorescence bearing “spikes” _on all sides_, that is, a “_spike-like panicle_.”--Many inflorescences are somewhat dorsiventral. The _flower_ is rarely unisexual (_Zea mais_) or barren. Considerable difficulty is experienced in reducing the Grass-flower to the ordinary 3-merous Monocotyledonous type. Some authorities consider the _lodicules_, which are present in all Grasses but absent in the Cyperaceæ, to be homologous with a perianth. According to a more recent theory they are bracteoles, and hence the Gramineæ, like many of the Juncaceæ, have 2–3 bracteoles placed in two rows in the median plane. If this theory be correct, the _flower is naked_. The lodicules expand quickly and cause the opening of the flower (_i.e._ the two pales become separated from each other). Generally only 3 _stamens_ belonging to the outer whorl are present (Fig. 290), as in _Iris_ (Fig. 279), certain Juncaceæ and Cyperaceæ (Fig. 284), but in some, such as the Rice and certain species of Bamboos, all 6 are found. _Pariana_ has more than 6. Only 1 of the _carpels_ is present, namely, the anterior (of those in Fig. 284), so that the ventral suture and the place of attachment of the ovule are situated at the back of the ovary. The number of styles does not correspond with the number of carpels, and the styles may therefore be supposed to arise from the edges of the leaf to the right and left--a position which is not without analogy. In addition, a stylar projection is sometimes found on the anterior side and in the median line (_e.g._ in _Phragmites_), and the solitary style in _Nardus_ has exactly this position; a similar arrangement is found in some species of _Bambusa_ which have only one style; other species of _Bambusa_ have three styles. A tripartite style is found in _Pharus_. [The Grass-flower may be reduced to the ordinary Monocotyledonous type thus:--The outer pale is the bract of the flower since it bears in its axil the floral shoot; the inner pale occupies the customary position of the bracteole. The fact that it is binerved can be explained by its having been pressed against the main-axis during development. Similar binerved bracteoles are found in _Iris_ (Fig. 279). These bracteoles in both Grass and Iris arise from single primordia, and are not produced by the coalescence of two leaves. The lodicules are the only parts of the perianth remaining, the outer whorl having been suppressed, and also the posterior leaf of the inner whorl; a posterior lodicule, however, is found in the Rice and some species of Bamboo. The outer whorl of stamens is usually absent, though this again is present in the Rice and Bamboo. The three carpels are reduced to one with two or sometimes three stigmas.]