196 GENERAL BOTANY 



AGAPANTHUS, EUCHARis, and others of the same 

 family, the AMARYLLIDACE^, and differs from 'trie- 

 racemose (or true) umbel of the UMBELIFER^E in that 

 the flowers open one after another irregularly and not. 

 all together, or the outermost first. 



The essential difference between inflorescences of a 

 cymose and those of a racemose type, is that in the 

 former, the axis always ends in a flower, the next 

 flower being therefore on a side branch (arising in 

 the axil of a bracteole) ; whereas, in those of the 

 racemose type, there is a main axis which continues 

 indefinitely bearing flowers along its whole length. 

 \Ye may call the cymose type therefore definite, the 

 racemose indefinite. 



4. Cases often occur in which the inflorescence 

 is of a mixed character both cymose and racemose,, 

 or is too ill-defined to class in either category, for 

 example : 



The fascicle, when a bunch of flowers occur on 

 the main axis, with more or less equal pedicels all 

 sessile on the axis, like a sessile umbel. A fascicle 

 may really be racemose or cymose in nature^ but 

 as a rule it is impossible to say in which class it 

 should be placed. The common garden flower, ANTI- 

 GONON, has small fascicles of two or three flowers in 

 the axils of bracts along a leafless branch (which ends 

 in the tendril). The cymose character of the fascicle 

 is here clearly shown by the difference in the size of 

 the buds, and the order in which they open. 



The panicle a compound inflorescence, that is, one 

 in which the main axis is branched, is termed a panicle. 

 The ordinary panicle is a branched raceme, but a 



