Raceme: Difference between revisions

A '''raceme''' ({{IPAc-en|r|eɪ|ˈ|s|iː|m}} or {{IPAc-en|r|ə|ˈ|s|iː|m}}) is an unbranched, [[indeterminate growth|indeterminate]] type of [[inflorescence]] bearing ''pedicellate'' [[flower]]s (flowers having short floral stalks called [[Pedicel (botany)|pedicels]]) along its axis.<ref name=walters1996>{{cite book|last1=Walters|first1=Dirk R. |last2=Keil|first2=David J. |title=Vascular Plant Taxonomy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZbaNxSnNoecC&pg=PA602|edition=4th|date=1 January 1996|publisher=Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company|location=United States|isbn=978-0-7872-2108-9|page=602}}</ref> In [[botany]], an ''axis'' means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In indeterminate inflorescence-like racemes, the oldest flowers are borne towards the base and new flowers are produced as the shoot grows, with no predetermined growth limit.<ref name="Wofford1989"/> A plant that flowers on a showy raceme may have this reflected in its scientific name, e.g. ''[[Cimicifuga racemosa]]''. A compound raceme, also called a '''[[panicle]]''', has a branching main axis.<ref name="KumarBhatia"/> Examples of racemes occur on mustard (genus ''[[Brassica]]'') and radish (genus ''[[Raphanus]]'') plants.<ref name="KumarBhatia"/>▼

A spike is an unbranched, indeterminate inflorescence, similar to a raceme, but bearing sessile flowers (sessile flowers are attached directly, without stalks).<ref name="Wofford1989"/> Examples occur on Malabar nut (''[[Justicia adhatoda]]'') and chaff flowers (genus ''[[Achyranthes]]'').<ref name="KumarBhatia"/> A '''[[spikelet]]''' can refer to a small ''spike'', although it is primarily used to refer to the ultimate flower cluster unit in grasses ([[Poaceae|family Poaceae]]) and sedges (family [[Cyperaceae]]),<ref name="Wofford1989">{{cite book|last=Wofford|first=B. Eugene |title=Guide to the Vascular Plants of the Blue Ridge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mNeNUQkIrqQC&pg=PA12|year=1989|publisher=University of Georgia Press|isbn=978-0-8203-2455-5|pages=10–15}}</ref> in which case the stalk supporting the cluster becomes the ''pedicel''. A true spikelet comprises one or more florets enclosed by two [[glume]]s (sterile [[bract]]s), with flowers and glumes arranged in two opposite rows along the spikelet.<ref name="KumarBhatia"/> Examples occur on rice (species ''[[Oryza sativa]]'') and wheat (genus ''[[wheat|Triticum]]''), both grasses.<ref name="KumarBhatia"/>▼

An [[catkin|ament or catkin]] is very similar to a spike or raceme, "but with subtending bracts so conspicuous as to conceal the flowers until pollination, as in the [[Pussy willow|pussy–willow]], [[alder]], [and] [[birch]]...".<ref name="GilmanPeck1907">{{cite book|editor=Gilman, Daniel Coit.|others=Peck, Harry Thurston; Colby, Frank Moore|title=The new international encyclopædia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pppGAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA618|volume=10|year=1907|publisher=Dodd, Mead and Company|location=New York|page=618}}</ref> These are sometimes called amentaceous plants.<ref name="GilmanPeck1907"/>▼

A [[spadix (botany)|spadix]] is a form of spike in which the florets are densely crowded along a fleshy axis, and enclosed by one or more large, brightly–colored [[bract]]s called [[spathe]]s.<ref name="KumarBhatia">{{cite book|last1=Kumar|first1=Vinay|last2=Bhatia|first2=S. S.|title=Complete Biology for Medical College Entrance Examination|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kTdVAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA218|edition=3rd|series=McGraw Hill Education Series|year=2013|publisher=McGraw Hill Education (India) Private Limited|isbn=978-1-259-06430-2|page=218}}</ref> Usually the female flowers grow at the base, and male flowers grow above.<ref name="KumarBhatia"/> They are a characteristic of the family [[Araceae]], for example jack–in–the–pulpit (species ''[[Arisaema triphyllum]]'') and wild calla (genus [[Calla]]).<ref name="GilmanPeck1907"/>▼