They include a literature review of inflorescence function, an experimental study of inflorescences as essential contributors to the display of flowers, and two papers that present new methods and concepts for understanding inflorescence diversity and for dealing with terminological problems.

But by and large, flower types are some combination of the above.The papers in this Special Issue bridge the gap between structural and functional approaches to inflorescence evolution. There are also a few genus specific flower types, such as cyathium, the flower type for Euphorbia. Compound corymbs, heliod cymes, vertilicaster. Mix and MatchДЇrom all these inflorescence types, there are numerous variations. Cute, I know:) Queen AnneвЂ™s Lace, Poison Hemlock and parsley are all examples. If there is another set of tiny umbrellas at the end of the spokes, that is called a compound umbel (those tiny sets of umbrellas are called вЂumbelletesвЂ™. Onion, garlic, and milkweed are all examples. If there are flowers at the end of the spokes, that is called a simple umbel. More technically speaking, an umbel is a inflorescence where the flower stems all come from the same point, and create a flattened or rounded top. From the Latin umbra for вЂshadowвЂ™, these are essentially little umbrellas flipped inside out.

Sometimes flowers are also put under the heading вЂcymoseвЂ™ (read cyme-like). Looking like a fuzzy, curled scorpion tail, Comfrey and Borage are fun examples of these. My favorite, and probably the easiest to remember, is the scorpiod cyme. From there though, it is divided into numerous other types. The basic cyme is pretty straightforward (St. This one is a bit more capitalist, as the flowers on cymes essentially bloom from the top down. This come from the French word cime, meaning вЂtop/summitвЂ™. Yarrow, Boneset, and Hawthorn are all examples. This is pretty much a panicle, only with the flowers all coming to a flat top instead of a loose blobular deal. CorymbДЇrom the Greek korumbus, meaning вЂbunch of flowersвЂ™. Look closely and youвЂ™ll see that Lilacs, Elderberry and Horse Chestnut are all panicles.

Since itвЂ™s basically just racemes all put together, itвЂ™s another case of the flowers blooming from bottom to top. Take a bunch of racemes, and put them on multiple branches, and you have a panicle. This is when the flower stems have stems. PanicleДЇrom raceme itвЂ™s just a small jump to panicle. Foxglove, lupine, pokeweed, and of course grapes, are all examples. Similar to the spike, these inflorescences also bloom from the bottom up. A great way to remember this is to think of a cluster of grapes (the Latin root racemus literally means вЂњa bunch of grapesвЂќ). This is strikingly similar to a spike, with the notable exception that each individual flower has itвЂ™s own little stem, called a pedicel (think of it like a mini pedestal, raising the flower up and off the main flower stem). Another important part is that they bloom from the bottom up (very democratic). This means that the flowers are stemless and spread out along the tip-top of a stem. Sunflowers, daisies, and dandelions are all examples of this deceptively complex type of inflorescence. It is thought of as false because what looks like a simple flower with a few petals is actually 10 or sometimes 1000вЂ™s of teeny-tiny individual flowers. The fancy-schmancy name for this is pseudanthium, which roughly translated means вЂfalse flowerвЂ™. Think of it like a party at a New York City studio apartment. HeadДЄ dense cluster of stem-less (sessile) flowers, all crammed together on the same flower top (receptacle). Tulips, daffodils and poppies are all examples. These flowers get a whole stem all to themselves, with out all the usual crowding. This is the flower we all draw as children. To help narrow down this complexity, the different arrangements of flowers are given specific terms. But the vast majority of the time, itвЂ™s a bit more complicated, with several to hundreds of individual flowers on an inflorescence. Sometimes plants are relatively simple, and have just one flower on one stem (a tulip would be a prime example). This includes the stems and stalks, as well as the usual petals, sepals, etc. From the Latin florescere meaning вЂbegin to bloomвЂ™, an inflorescence is the part of the plant with all the flower parts.

Cyme vs raceme