Q.Define the term Inflorescence. Give a detailed account of racemose inflorescence.

The pattern in which flowers are arranged on the peduncle (floral axis) is called inflorescence.

When the shoot apex converts to a reproductive (floral) meristem, it may bear a single flower or, more commonly, a cluster of flowers arranged along the elongated floral axis in a characteristic pattern; this pattern is termed the inflorescence. Broadly, inflorescences are classed as racemose (the main axis continues to grow and produce flowers laterally, so the youngest flowers are near the apex, e.g. raceme, spike, panicle) or cymose (the main axis terminates in …

The main axis of an inflorescence (the stalk of the whole flower cluster) is called the peduncle.

In flowering-plant morphology, when the shoot apex transforms into a reproductive (floral) apex, it either produces a single flower or a group/cluster of flowers arranged on the main axis, this arrangement is called an inflorescence.

• The main stalk that bears the whole cluster of flowers is the peduncle.
• The individual stalk of each flower borne on that axis is the pedicel. …

Thyrsus combines a racemose main axis with cymosely-branched lateral branches, which is why it is classified as a mixed (compound) type of inflorescence rather than purely racemose or purely cymose.

Inflorescences are broadly grouped as:

• Racemose — the main axis continues to grow indefinitely, producing flowers laterally in acropetal succession (younger flowers near the tip).
• Cymose — the main axis terminates in a flower early, so growth continues through lateral (definite) branches, in a basipetal-appearing succession.
• Mixed (compound) inflorescences — combine both patterns, typically a racemose main axis bearing cymosely-arranged lateral branches (or vice versa), and special inflorescences with unique structural modifications (e.g. cyathium, hypanthodium, verticillaster). …

Ficus (Peepal) bears a hypanthodium inflorescence → (d).

• A hypanthodium is a cup/flask-shaped, hollow receptacle enclosing tiny male, female and neuter flowers, with a small apical pore (ostiole). …

A cyathium is a cup-like involucre of fused bracts enclosing one central female flower surrounded by many reduced male flowers — a hallmark of the genus Euphorbia.

In a cyathium, a cup-shaped structure formed by fused bracts (the involucre) bears a single, stalked female flower in its centre, surrounded by numerous highly reduced male flowers (each reduced to essentially a single stamen). This condensed, specialised inflorescence is a defining feature of the family Euphorbiaceae, particularly the genus Euphorbia (e.g., Euphorbia pulcherrima — poinsettia, Euphorbia hirta, Euphor …

A spike is a racemose inflorescence with sessile flowers on an unbranched, elongated axis.

Inflorescences are broadly classed as RACEMOSE (the main axis keeps growing and does not end in a flower, so flowers open acropetally - oldest at the base, youngest at the apex) or CYMOSE (the main axis terminates in a flower, so growth stops and flowers open basipetally - youngest at the base). A SPIKE is a classic racemose type: like a raceme, but the flowers are sessile instead of pedicellate (e.g. Achyranthes, Amaranthus). "Special" and "mixed" infl …

In a cyathium, the male flowers (each reduced to one stamen) and the single central female flower (a single pistil) are both unisexual, unlike the bisexual flowers of a verticillaster, cyme, or thyrsus.

A cyathium is a specialised inflorescence in which a cup-like involucre of fused bracts encloses many male flowers, each reduced to just a single stamen jointed to a pedicel (mimicking a filament), arranged around one central female flower reduced to a single stalked pistil. Because each individual flower has only male or only female parts, both flower types in a cyathium are strictly unisexual.

…