BUDS AND BRANCHES 



which is merely a compound raceme, the pedicels of which 

 are branched one or more times. 



271. A Spike (Fig. 354) is a raceme with 

 the flowers sessile and more or less crowded 

 together, as in the plantain, smartweed, 

 wheat, barley, etc. A form of spike more 

 common in early spring is the 



272. Ament, or Catkin, of 



which we have abundant 

 examples in the pendent scaly 

 inflorescence of the willow, 

 oak, poplar, and most of our 

 354. A spike common forest trees (Fig. 

 355). A sessile corymb or 



of the common 

 plantain (Plan- 



tago lanceolata). umbel gives rise to 



273. The Head (Fig. 356), a crowded, 

 roundish cluster like the clover, button- ca?k?n~of m< birch 

 wood, sycamore, etc. ( a f ter GRAY). 



274. Diagrams. Do not try to 

 learn all these names by heart, but 

 look for examples of the different 

 kinds of inflorescence and diagram 

 them, using balls or circles to sym- 

 bolize the flowers, as in the models 

 given in Figures 357 to 361. The 

 order of blooming may be shown 

 by using larger balls to represent 

 It will be seen from the diagrams that 

 all the forms of indefinite inflorescence are derived from the 

 raceme, whence it is frequently spoken of as the racemose 

 type of inflorescence. 



275. Cymose, or Definite Inflorescence. As the raceme 

 is the fundamental form of indefinite inflorescence, so the 

 fundamental form of the definite or determinate kind is 



Head of clover. 



the older flowers. 



