Inflorescences
Inflorescence type
Inflorescence types are essentially secondary arrangements. The primary arrangement (alternate, opposite, or whorled) of the individual flowers should be indicated; and the tertiary arrangement of sessile-flowered inflorencences should be noted; e.g., spikelets racemose or heads umbellate. Determinate inflorescences have the central flower maturing first with the arrest of the elongation of the central axis; indeterminate inflorescences have the lateral or lower flowers maturing first without the arrest of the elongation of the central axis.
ament or catkin | A unisexual spike or elongate axis with simple dichasia that falls as a unit after flowering or fruiting. |  |
cincinnus cyme | A tight, modified helicoid cyme in which pedicels are short on the developed side. |  |
compound corymb | A branched corymb. |  |
compound cyme | A branched cyme. |  |
compound umbel | An umbel with primary rays or peduncles arising at a common point with a secondary umbel arising from the tip of the primary rays; a branched umbel. |  |
corymb | A flat-topped or convex indeterminate cluster of flowers. |  |
dichasium (simple cyme) | Cymose inflorescence in which each axis produces a pair of lateral axes. |  |
glomerule | An indeterminate dense cluster of sessile or subsessile flowers. |  |
head (capitulum) | A determinate (central flower matures first with the arrest of the elongation of the central axis) or indeterminate (lateral or lower flowers mature first without the arrest of the elongation of the central axis) crowded group of sessile or subsessile flowers on a compound receptacle or torus. |  |
helicoid cyme or bostryx | A determinate inflorescence in which the branches develop on one side only, appearing simple. |  |
hypanthodium | An inflorescence with flowers on wall of a concave capitulum, as in Ficus. |  |
in terminal racemes sharply differentiated from the stem, with minute bracts | ||
in terminal racemes subtended by normal leaves with gradual transition to bracts | ||
monochasium | A cymose inflorescence with one main axis. | |
panicle | Branched inflorescence with pedicelled flowers. |  |
raceme | Unbranched, indeterminate inflorescence with pedicelled flowers. |  |
scorpioid cyme | A zigzag determinate inflorescence with branches developed on opposite sides of the rachis alternately. |  |
solitary | One-flowered, not an inflorescence. | |
spadix | Unbranched, indeterminate inflorescence with flowers embedded in the rachis. |  |
spike | Unbranched, indeterminate, elongate inflorescence with sessile flowers. |  |
spikelet or locusta | A small spike; the basic inflorescence unit in grasses and sedges. |  |
thyrse | A many-flowered inflorencence with an indeterminate central axis and with many opposite lateral dichasia. |  |
umbel | A determinate or indeterminate flat-topped or convex inflorescence with the pedicels arising at a common point. |  |
verticillaster | Whorled dichasia at the nodes of an elongate rachis. |  |
with corymbose branches | ||
with racemose branches | ||
with spicate branches | ||
with umbellate branches |