THE SECOND BOOK OF BOTANY. 



cease to lengthen. From these branches proceed 

 others (C, C), and so on. 



Such a loose, irregular, definite inflorescence is 

 called a cyme ; but, when the number of branches is 

 greatly increased, and the peduncles acquire such 

 lengths as to give a peculiar outline, the cluster re- 

 ceives a more special name. Fig. 285 represents the 

 cymose inflorescence of an opposite-leaved plant. The 

 main, or primary stem, terminates in a flower between 

 two branches. These branches, or secondary stems, 

 also terminate in flowers, each one of which is situ- 

 ated between branches of the third order, and so on. 



In this way is formed 

 a forked or dichotomous 

 cyme. If, in place of two, 

 we have three branches, 



FIG. 285. 



forming a sort of whorl around the primary stem, and 

 each of these branches has another whorl of three 

 tertiary branches, and so on, we get a trichotomous 

 cyme. "When the branching is carried forward, as 

 seen in Fig. 286, the cyme becomes globose. When 

 the central flower is suppressed, the process of de- 

 velopment is not easily traced. 



