A History of Agriculture in India v1.c23.s8.7

v1.c23.s8.7

According to Shastry and Sharma¹⁰, the genus *Oryza* started initially as a small plant growing in well-drained soils in the humid atmosphere of forests. The hydrophytic habitat with preference for open sunshine and a larger size of plant (e.g. *O. officinalis*) were later phylogenetic developments. The tuberculations on the surface of the fertile lemma and palea and the development of awns are also advanced characters in *Oryza*, though in the most advanced, cultivated species, *O. sativa* and *O. glaberrima*, the awns are often suppressed. Lastly, it follows that South-East Asia is the probable centre of origin of the genus, and its spread to the African and American continents was a later development.