Spikelet
A compact floral unit in grasses and sedges, with one or more flowers arranged along a short central axis and usually enclosed by bracts.
Glume: A bract at the base of a grass spikelet, usually occurring as a paired set. The outermost bracts typically subtend the spikelet’s flowers.
Anthesis: The period when a flower opens and its reproductive structures become exposed. Grass florets open briefly at anthesis to release pollen or receive it.
Sedge: A flowering plant in the family Cyperaceae, often grasslike but with distinct stems and flowers. Sedges also bear spikelets, but their floral structures differ from those of grasses.
Grass morphology: The study of the structural features of grasses, including leaves, stems, flowers, and fruits. Spikelet characters are central to describing and comparing grass structures.
Lemma: The lower bract enclosing an individual grass floret. Each grass floret is commonly enclosed by a lemma on its outer side.
Lodicule: A small scale in a grass flower that swells to help open the floret. Lodicule swelling separates the lemma and palea during flowering.
Cyperaceae: The plant family of sedges, including Carex, Cyperus, and related genera. Its spikelets commonly have scale-like bracts and flowers organized differently from grass florets.
Grass identification: The identification of grass species using structural, reproductive, and other diagnostic traits. Glumes, florets, and awns provide widely used identification characters.
Palea: The upper bract enclosing a grass floret, usually opposite the lemma. Together with the lemma, it forms the floret’s protective enclosure.
Awn (botany): A slender bristle growing from a grass bract or other plant structure. Awns on spikelet bracts can aid movement or affect dispersal.