What are called glumes?
Matthew Wilson
Updated on February 26, 2026
In botany, a glume is a bract (leaf-like structure) below a spikelet in the inflorescence (flower cluster) of grasses (Poaceae) or the flowers of sedges (Cyperaceae). In sedges, by contrast, a glume is a scale at the base of each flower in a spikelet.
What is Rice spikelet?
Spikelets are the basic inflorescence units in rice and typically consist of a flower of interlocked lemma and palea forming a husk, two lodicules, six stamens, and one pistil.
What is spikelet in biology?
A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the flowers of grasses, sedges and some other Monocots. Each spikelet has one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes.
How would you distinguish a floret from a spikelet?
A spikelet consists of two (or sometimes fewer) bracts at the base, called glumes, followed by one or more florets. A floret consists of the flower surrounded by two bracts, one external—the lemma—and one internal—the palea.
What is Lemma and Palea?
The primary difference between the two is that: Palea is the bracelets that grow on a compound flower’s receptacle. Lemma is one of the specialized bracts around florets in grass.
Is corn a Caryopsis?
Each kernel of corn on a cob is a caryopsis. These relatively large seeds are great for demonstrating the anatomy of seeds in the grass family. In these seeds there is an additional layer of endosperm called aleurone, which is rich in protein and composed of living cells.
What is lemma and Palea?
What is the function of Lodicule?
The lodicules are the two diminutive bodies lying between the lemma and the ovary base in the grass floret which, by expanding rapidly at the time of anthesis, lever away the rigid lemma allowing anthers and stigmas to emerge.
How many florets does a spikelet have?
Parts of a single grass spikelet, consisting of two glumes, four fertile florets, with one additional central floret that may or may not be sterile A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the flowers of grasses, sedges and some other Monocots. Each spikelet has one or more florets.
What is the difference between spikelet and rachilla?
The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes. The part of the spikelet that bears the florets is called the rachilla. A spikelet consists of two (or sometimes fewer) bracts at the base, called glumes, followed by one or more florets.
How many spikelets are in a rachis node?
The number of fertile spikelets per rachis node is one of the most constant and easily recognised characteristics of barley. Three fertile spikelets are formed at each rachis node in six-rowed barley, and only the central spikelet at each rachis node will set seed in two-rowed barley.
How many fertile spikelets are formed in six-rowed barley?
Three fertile spikelets are formed at each rachis node in six-rowed barley, and only the central spikelet at each rachis node will set seed in two-rowed barley. The vrs1.a allele is present in most six-rowed barley and the common allele in two-rowed barley is Vrs1.b.