THE INFLORESCENCE AND FLOWER. 



of nearly equal length, as in Fig. 104, it is called a 

 raceme. 



The flower-stems that grow from a rachis, or from the 

 top of a peduncle, are called pedicels. 



A spadix is a spike with a thick rachis covered around 

 by a large leaf called a spathe (Fig. 105). . 



A spike with sessile bracts among its flowers is called 

 an ament or catkin. It grows on trees and shrubs, and 

 drops off when mature 

 (Fig. 106). 



When you find clus- 

 ters of nearly sessile 

 flowers in the axils of op- 

 posite leaves, they form 

 a glomerule. 



When from the top 

 of the peduncle there is 

 given off a number of 

 pedicels of nearly equal 

 length, arranged like the 

 ribs of an umbrella (Fig. 

 107), the cluster is an 

 umbel. 



When you look only 



at the top of a corymb (Fig. 108) it resembles an umbel, 

 but its pedicels are of greatly unequal length (compare 

 Figs. 108 and 107). 



A compound umbel has a small umbel, called an um- 

 dellet, upon each pedicel (Fig. 109). 



In the same way, each of the pedicels of a corymb may 

 bear a corymb, in which case we have a compound corymb 

 (Fig. no). 



A compound raceme is formed of secondary racemes in a 

 similar manner. When spreading, it is called a panicle. 



FIG. no. 



