SHOOT APEX IN GRASSES AND CEREALS

Abstract

THE lack of readily available illustrations and 1literature on the morphology of the shoot apex in the Gramineæ, coupled with the fascination to be obtained from actually viewing the living growing point and the newly initiated primordia in various stages of their early development, prompt a note for the benefit of other workers. Using a mounted needle under a fixed lens (or for preference, a dissecting-microseope) a little care will enable the outer leaves of most grass shoots to be removed one by one until the very young primordia and the growing point are revealed. Of the grasses so far studied, Glyceria fluitans R.Br. is by far the easiest to dissect, since its leaves are conduplicate and possess little sclerenchyma, etc., so that the tissues cut exceptionally well and yield to the needle in a manner curiously reminiscent of snow.