20 VEGETABLE ORGANOGRAPHY. 



corymbiform racemes and umbels, the lateral ones are the 

 first to expand. 



A second remarkable difference which is observed in 

 cymes, especially in dichotomous ones, is, that of the two 

 branches which ought to be developed in the axils of 

 the two bracts, one is sometimes abortive, and then the 

 terminal flower seems lateral ; this is very clearly ob- 

 served on comparing the Silenes said to have spiked 

 flowers, with those with an evidently dichotomous inflo- 

 rescence. In this case the flowers are generally dis- 

 posed upon only one side, either by a tendency of the 

 branches to be abortive on that side, or by a torsion of 

 the axis. The branches or stems in which this dispo- 

 sition takes place are in general, before their develop- 

 ment, rolled up : this is observed in Drosera, the cymes 

 of which have the flowers unilateral ; in the Silenes, 

 said to be spiked ; in the branches of the cymes of 

 Sedum ; in those of Echium, and other Boragineae. I 

 give to these cymes, the flowers of which seem unilateral, 

 the name of Scorpioid Cymes, which makes allusion 

 to their mode of development. 



The different dispositions of cymes of which we have 

 spoken, may be combined together ; thus, several species 

 of Sedum present a general cyme, the central flower of 

 which is abortive, and which is divided into several 

 lateral branches, some of them dichotomous at the base, 

 others simple, and with unilateral flowers, on account 

 of the abortion of the secondary ramuscules. When a 

 cyme has the lateral branches very short, the flowers 

 are found agglomerated together ; this is seen, for ex- 

 ample, in the Sweet- William. Rceper gives to this 

 disposition the particular name of Fascicle (fasciculus), 

 which, on acount of its vague nature, is found applied 

 by different writers to other dispositions of flowers. 

 That of Contracted Cyme (cyma conlracta) would 



