CHAPTER THIRD. 



THE INFLORESCENCE AND FLOWER, 



EXERCISE XII. 

 Kinds of Inflorescence. 



THE way flowers are placed upon plants is called their 

 inflorescence. When only one flower grows upon a stem, 

 the inflorescence is solitary ; but if several flowers grow 

 from the same stem, it is 

 clustered. The stem of a 

 solitary flower or of a flow- 

 er-cluster is called a pedun- 

 cle. The top of the pedun- 

 cle, from which several flow- 

 ers start together, is called 

 the receptacle. A rounded 

 cluster of flowers, sessile up- 

 on the receptacle, is called 

 a head (Fig. 102). 



When, instead of a re- 

 ceptacle, the peduncle is pro- 

 longed, as shown in Figs. 

 103, 104, the portion that 

 bears flowers is called the FIG. 102 



rachis. 



Fig. 103 represents a cluster of flowers that are sessile 

 upon the rachis ; / is the peduncle ; b l>, bracts ; fl, flowers. 

 Any cluster of flowers sessile upon a rachis is described 

 as a spike. But if the flowers grow upon short stems 



