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
Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences systematic and evolutionary botany, vegetation and environmental change, plant molecular physiology and development, photosynthesis, and the sustainable use of plant resources. IB-CAS comprises five research units: the National Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, the National Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, the CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Physiology, the CAS Key Laboratory of Photobiology and the CAS Key Laboratory of Plant Resources. In addition, it is also home to the largest herbarium in Asia, 10 field stations, the Beijing Botanical Garden and the Hua Xi Subalpine Botanical Garden in Sichuan Province. IBCAS’s herbarium collections comprise 2.63 million