Inflorescences
A group of several flowers growing close together is an inflorescence. Single flowers occur in tulip, violet and quince, but in many plants flowers gather in inflorescences — flowers in an inflorescence are pollinated better. An inflorescence with flowers on one main axis is simple: in a raceme flowers sit alternately on stalks (cabbage, radish, shepherd’s purse); in a spike flowers are stalkless (plantain); in a corymb the lower flowers have longer stalks so the flowers are on one level (apple, pear); in a spadix stalkless flowers sit on a thick axis (the pistillate flowers of maize); in a head they sit on a short thick axis in a ball (clover); in an umbel stalks of equal length arise from one point (onion); in a capitulum the axis widens into a fleshy disc surrounded by bracts (sunflower, dandelion); a catkin hangs down (walnut, birch, willow). Several simple inflorescences form a compound one: compound umbel (carrot, dill, parsley), compound spike (wheat, barley, rye), compound raceme (grape).
| Simple | raceme, spike, corymb, spadix, head, umbel, capitulum, catkin |
|---|---|
| Compound | compound umbel, compound spike, compound raceme |
Inflorescence herbarium: find 6 inflorescences in the school garden or herbarium, draw them and write the type (raceme, spike, umbel, capitulum, catkin…). Or “plant–inflorescence” card pairs. Safety: do not touch bees or insect-visited flowers; allergic pupils take care.