Ear (botany) Ear (botany) An ear is the grain-bearing tip part of the stem of a cereal plant, such as wheat or maize. It can also refer to "a prominent lobe in some leaves". The ear is a spike, consisting of a central stem on which tightly packed rows of flowers grow. These develop into fruits containing the edible seeds. In corn, it is protected by leaves called husks. In some species (including wheat), unripe ears contribute significantly to photosynthesis, in addition to the leaves lower down the plant. A parasite known as "Anguina tritici" (Ear Cockle) specifically affects the ears on
Władysław Szafer Institute of Botany Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Web address: Władysław Szafer Institute of Botany The Władysław Szafer Institute of Botany (Instytut Botaniki im. Władysława Szafera, Polish) in Kraków, Poland is a major European herbarium containing a collection of over 650,000 vascular plants, bryophytes, algae, fungi, lichens, and various plant fossils. The vascular plant specimens are primarily from Central Europe with a specialization in alpine plants. The bryophytes are Polish, Antarctic and subAntarctic, and East African. The fossil plants are largely Central European. Main publications include "Acta Palaeobotanica", and the "Polish Botanical Journal". The herbarium was established in the 1950s by professor of botany