450 



Introductory View of the 



189 



from the spike, in having the flowers 

 visibly stalked, and all or nearly 

 all in blow together ; whereas those 

 of the spike begin to blow at the 

 base, and the lower ones are usually 

 withered before the upper ones are 

 blown. The raceme, too, is mostly 

 pendulous {fig. 188.6); the spike 

 erect («). A spike is sometimes com- 

 pound ; being formed of many little 

 spikes, or spikelets, arranged upon 

 another stalk, as the flowers are ar- 

 ranged on the first. The panicle is a 



compound spike, only that the flowers have 

 long stalks, which give the whole cluster a 

 more loose and diffuse form ; as in London 

 Pride, {fig, 189.) An umbel has many stalks 

 (called rays) collected together at the top of 

 the stem, and spreading upwards in a hollow 

 form, like the spokes of an umbrella re- 

 versed : each ray terminates in a flower, if it 

 is a simple umbel ; but, if the umbel is com- 

 pound, it is crowned by a number of smaller 

 rays, arranged in the same manner, which 

 bear the flowers. The smaller are termed 

 partial umbels { fig. 190. «); the main um- 

 bel is termed the universal, or 

 general, umbel {fig. 190. b). A 

 cyme, like the umbel, has 

 many stalks meeting at the 

 top of the stem ; but these 

 are irregularly subdivided be- 

 fore they terminate in the 

 flowers ; as in the elder tree. 

 {fig. 191.) The corymb is 



a terminating cluster, of which the stalks 

 are irregularly placed, but differing in 

 length, so as to bring all the flowers very 

 nearly to a level at the top. The ament 

 has many scales set in an 

 imbricated manner along 

 a slender stalk, which 

 serve as calyces to the 

 flowers growing between 

 them, as in many trees ; 

 the willow, birch, fir, &c. {fig. 192.) This 



192 



