mauriticBformiSt  of  Kew  Granada.  They
are  all  low-growing  palms,  with  the  lower
part  of  their  trunks  marked  by  close  cir-
cular scars,  and  the  upper  clad  with  the
persistent  bases  of  old  leafstalks.  They
have  deeply-cut  fan-shaped  prickly-stalked
leaves,  with  threads  hanging  from  between
the  segments  ;  and  much-branched  spikes


of  greenish-yellow  flowers,  which  are  either
perfect  or  (by  abortion^  of  one  sex  only
The  perfect  ones  contain  six  free  or  slight-
ly connected  stamens,  rising  from  the  bot-
tom of  the  corolla,  and  three  distinct
ovaries  with  narrow  tapering  styles  and
simple  stigmas.  Only  one  of  the  ovaries
comes  to  maturity,  forming  a  one-seeded
fruit,  the  seed  having  the  embryo  placed
at  the  back  near  the  top.  [A.  8.]

TRITICUM.  A  genus  of  grasses  of  the
'  tribe  Hordece,  which  includes,  among  other
species— T.  vtilgare,  or  Common  Wheat ;  T.
repens,  the  Creeping  Couch  or  Cooch  ;  and
r.  caninum.  T.  vulgare  is  an  annual  cereal
or  corn-grass,  which  under  the  name  of
Wheat  Is  well-known  to  every  one.  Its
varieties,  though  endless,  may  i^erhaps  be
all  comprehended  under  the  following
heads,  of  each  of  which  we  may  have  va-
rieties, with  more  or  less  hairiness  on  the
chaff -scales,  &c.  ;—T.  vulgare  muticum  {T.
hybemtim,  Linn.),  the  awnless  or  Beardless
Wheat ;  T.  vtilgare  barbatum  {.T.  cestivuw,
Linn.) ;  and  T.  SpelUi,  the  grains  in  which
are  more  or  less  adherent  to  the  chaff-
scales.
