THE INFLORESCENCE, AND Till. FLOWER 



261 



liable to be reduced, or entirely absent. The closely grouped buds protect 

 one another while young, so that the bracts become superfluous, and arc 

 liable to be suppressed. Such inflorescences are characteristic of the Umbelli- 

 ferae ; but various degrees of abbreviation of the axes are found in other 

 families, giving rise to modifications of the raceme or panicle sometimes 

 described as corymbose. 



Fig. 183. 

 Inflorescence of the Vine : a panicle. 



(After Figuier.) 



If, however, intercalary growth be reduced both in the peduncle and the 

 pedicels, all the flowers will appear aggregated in a dense head. The axis 

 of the whole inflorescence is then usually enlarged into a general receptacle, 

 upon which numerous flowers are seated. Such an inflorescence is called a 

 Capitulum (Fig. 179, £)• It is characteristic of the Compositae. Here again 

 the bracts form a general involucre protecting the whole head, while a bracteole 

 normally subtends each flower borne on the receptacle (Fig. 1 86) . But as these 

 are closely packed, they must mutually protect one another. The bracteoles 

 are then superfluous, and are often absent, as they are in the Oxeye Daisy 

 and the Dandelion (Fig. 480, App. A) . Similar capitula are found in the Sheep s 

 Bit (Jasione) among the Campanulaceae, and in the Teasel and Scabious 



