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e. The flowers (Fig. 87, _L_) are usually perfect; the stigmas, two in number and like plumes, so that they readily catch the pollen which is blown upon them. A few, like the Indian corn, have the flowers unisexual; the male flowers are at the top of the stem forming the "tassel," and the female flowers lower down forming the ear. The "silk" is composed of the enormously lengthened stigmas. The fruits resemble those of the sedges, but the embryo is usually larger and placed at one side of the endosperm (_N_, _em._). While most of the grasses are comparatively small plants, a few of them are almost tree-like in their proportions, the species of bamboo (_Bambusa_) sometimes reaching a height of twenty to thirty metres, with stems thirty to forty centimetres in diameter. ORDER V.--_Scitamineae_. [Illustration: FIG. 88.--_Scitamineae_. _A_, upper part of a flowering plant of Indian shot (_Canna_), much reduced in size (_Cannaceae_). _B_, a single flower, x 1/2. _C_, the single stamen (_an._), and petal-like pistil (_gy._), x 1. _D_, section of the ovary, x 2. _E_, diagram of the flower. The place of the missing stamens is indicated by small circles. _F_, fruit, x 1/2. _G_, section of an unripe seed. _em._ embryo. _p_, perisperm, x 2.] The plants of this order are all inhabitants of the warmer parts of the earth, and only a very few occur within the limits of the United States, and these confined to the extreme south. They are extremely showy plants, owing to their large leaves and brilliant flowers, and for this reason are cultivated extensively. Various species of _Canna_ (Fig. 88) are common in gardens, where they are prized for their large, richly-colored leaves, and clusters of scarlet, orange, or yellow flowers. The leafy stems arise from thick tubers or root stocks, and grow rapidly to a height of two metres or more in the larger species. The leaves, as in all the order, are very large, and have a thick midrib with lateral veins running to the margin. The young leaves are folded up like a trumpet. The flowers are irregular in form, and in _Canna_ only a single stamen is found; or if more are present, they are reduced to petal-like rudiments. The single, perfect stamen (Fig. 88, _C_, _an._) has the filament broad and colored like the petals, and the anther attached to one side. The pistil (_gy._) is also petal-like. There are three circles of leaves forming the perigone, the two outer being more or less memb
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