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
Calyx of Held principal neuron with a distinct morphology: branching of the calyx allows the creation of second- and third-order networks. Each branch establishes a connection with the principal neuron, establishing a large number of active zones. This is unusual for synaptic terminals in the brain, as most create a single active zone. Each calyx contains anywhere from 300 to 700 active zones, and in each of the active zones there are about 100 glutamate-containing vesicles with about 3 docked vesicles at a time. These vesicles are large, consistent with the findings regarding quantal size in other adult synapses. Dense-core vesicles, usually containing