Glume

Glume, a rigid or chaff-like bract in the inflorescence of grasses and sedges, whence the two orders Graminaceae and Cyperaceae are united into one series under the name Glnmifiorce. These glumes were at one time thought to represent perianth-leaves. They are often green at first, and are sometimes furnished with a terminal or with a dorsal awn (q.v.). The innermost glume, or pale, is commonly colourless and transparent, with two longitudinal green veins, so that it probably represents the union of two such organs.