Inflorescence & Flower Parts Flashcards
Style of spike where male and female flowers are borne on a central column. Eg. Calla lily
Spadix
Group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches
Inflorescence
Stalk of an inflorescence or a stalk bearing a solitary flower in a one-flowered inflorescence
Peduncle
Stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence
Pedicel
Modified leaf that sits under a flower (Subtends the inflorescence)
Bract
Whorl of bracts
Involucral bracts
Flower without a stalk (pedicel or peduncle)
Sessile
Flower have similar parts directed to one side only
Secund
Flowers bloom from the base upwards or from the outside inwards
Indeterminate inflorescence
Flowers bloom from the center outwards or from the apex downward
Determinate inflorescence
Inflorescence composed of sessile (stalkless) flowers arranged along a rachis (ex. cat tail)
Spike
Inflorescence with stalked flowers arranged singly along an elongated unbranched axis (ex. lily of the valley)
Raceme
Compound raceme or branched cluster of flowers (ex. Grasses)
Panicle
Like a raceme, but the pedicels all elongating to the same level to give the inflorescence a flat-topped appearance (ex. goldenrod, yarrow)
Corymb
Inflorescence which consists of a number of short flower stalks which are equal in length and spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs (ex. carrot, wild onion)
Umbel
Elongated inflorescence composed of numerous inconspicuous, usually dense, cylindrical, often drooping clusters of unisexual flowers with no petals (ex willow)
Catkin
Consists of many little florets: tubular “disc” flowers in the center and/or “strap-like” ray flowers around the edge (ex. both: sunflowers; only disc: blazing star; only ray: dandelion)
Composite/Head flowers
Flowers borne in a tight circle at each node
Verticil
Name four features of monocots
- Parallel veined leaf
- 1 cotyledon
- Fibrous roots
- Floral parts in multiples of 3
Name four features of dicots
- Netted veined leaf
- 2 cotyledons
- Tap root
- Floral parts in multiple of 4 or 5
Male parts of the flower
Stamen, consists of anther and filament
Female parts of the flower
Pistil, composed of stigma, style, and ovary
Separate usually green parts forming the calyx of a flower (aka outer whorl of the perianth)
sepal
One of the separate, usually colored parts forming the corolla of a flower (aka inner whorl of the perianth)
petal
Flowers that can be divided by only a single plants into two mirror-image halves
Zygomorphic
Flowers that can be divided into symmetrical halves by more than one longitudinal plane (like cutting a pie)
Actinomorphic
