62 
THE INFLORESCENCE 
most often the reproductive shoots are several in number, 
divided by portions of the vegetative shoot. 
The construction of the inflorescence depends chiefly on 
the mode of branching, whether monopodial or sympodial, 
but also on the varying rate of growth of its different parts, 
variation in symmetry, adnation, &c. 
The flowers may be sessile or on stalks ( pedicels of single 
flowers in a group, peduncles of groups of flowers or solitary 
flowers). Each flower arises, as a rule, in the axil of a leaf, 
which is termed its bract ; and any leaves on the same axis 
as the flower itself, between it and its bract, are termed the 
bracteoles of the flower. The lowest bracteole is often 
termed a, the next above /?, and so on (cf. floral diagrams). 
These terms merely express the relative positions of the 
parts ; the same leaf may obviously be the bracteole of one 
flower and the bract of another. Bracts are absent in a few 
cases; e.g. most Cruciferae, many Umbelliferae and Compo- 
sitae are ebracteate\ the bracteoles also are frequently 
missing. In Dicotyledons there are usually two bracteoles, 
placed transversely (i.e. if the bract face S. they face E. and 
W.), in Monocotyledons commonly one, on the side opposite 
to the bract. In condensed inflorescences the bracts are 
often collected together into whorls or what look like them; 
such involucres may be seen on the heads of Compositae, &c., 
the umbels of many Umbelliferae, and so on. The term 
involucre is also given to a whorl of leaves below a single 
flower and upon the same axis, as in Anemone and its 
allies. 
In general the bracts resemble the foliage -leaves but are usually 
smaller and more simple in construction. In some cases, e.g. Euphor- 
bia sp., Salvia sp., Castilleja, Amherstia, Bougainvillea, they are 
brightly coloured, aiding in the attraction of insects to the flowers. 
They may also exhibit modification into thorns, &c., like foliage-leaves. 
In many Monocotyledons, e.g. Palms, Araceae, &c., there is a large 
leaf borne at the base of the inflorescence and on the same axis; this is 
termed the spathe, and usually encloses the whole inflorescence when 
young ; the latter, if of the spike pattern, is then usually termed a spadix. 
The spathe is brightly coloured in many Araceae, e.g. Anthurium, 
Richard ia. 
The typical monopodial inflorescence is the raceme , in 
which the main shoot grows steadily onwards, bearing 
lateral branches in acropetal succession; each branch ter- 
