Beautiful gardens with the splendor of fragrant delicate flowers have been an indispensable decoration of noble houses at all times and centuries. The royal gardens, boyars' yards, estates were necessarily fenced with wonderful plantings, which uplifted their appearance and made them feel thinner, sharper, becoming more romantic.
Today, flowers are also the main decoration of the life of a woman, and indeed of people. Their huge species diversity is simply amazing: field, cute and simple, specially grown garden, large and fragrant, home potted, able to decorate any room.
However, few people thought about what an inflorescence is from a scientific point of view.
The concept
In fact, the answer is quite simple. What is inflorescence in biology? This is a group of flowers of one plant, located in a special way on the same axis. Moreover, in different instances, respectively, the types of these structures are not the same.
In order to obtain flowers for sale, representatives of the flora without inflorescences are grown. These are large, brightly colored single flowers of an unusual shape, appearance, color or aroma. They make chic bouquets, baskets, make ikebans. However, natural plants living in natural conditions, most often have small large flowers, collected in a certain way. What is inflorescence in plants? Let's consider in more detail.
Structural features
From a biological point of view, there are two main types of structure of inflorescences:
- Botric, or bococolor. These are plants in which many flowers are collected on one axis in a different order, but flowering begins only from the bottom. The topmost flower begins to blossom last. This includes simple inflorescences: brush, spike, umbrella, flap and others.
- Tsimoznoe. What is an inflorescence? It differs from the previous group in that the apical flower is opened first, and then the others located below fan out. This group includes slightly more complicated inflorescences: monochasia, dichasia and pleochasia.
Each flower has all the structural parts necessary for performing the reproductive function: receptacle, peduncle, stipules, pistil and stamens. Their sizes can vary depending on the type of plant, as well as the quantity. For example, some palm trees and agaves have several tens of thousands of flowers in one inflorescence, and their sizes reach 14 m in height and 12 m in width.
Kinds
Answering the question of what inflorescence is in plants, a small simplified classification of all of them should be given:
- botric simple;
- complex
- cimic
- single flowers.
Each species includes several varieties that should be considered in more detail.
Simple inflorescences
Representatives of this category have a simple structure. Inflorescences of the following types are presented in this variety:
- Brush - on the main axis there are many small flowers, each of which must have a peduncle. Examples of plants: bird cherry, sweet peas, acacia, flaxseed, lily of the valley, bell, cabbage and others.
- Ear - on the main stem (often elongated) there are many flowers, but without pedicels, that is, sessile. Examples: verbena, orchid, plantain, sedge, orchis, corn (female structures) and others.
- The cob - the main axis is very thick, massive and fleshy. On it are sedentary medium-sized flowers of various quantities. Examples: calla lilies, aronnik, calamus. In many plants, a brightly colored covering sheet forms at the base.
- A simple shield - it is interesting that such an inflorescence resembles a brush, but differs in one feature. The pedicels of the underlying flowers are longer, which makes them equal in height to all the others. As a result, the general view is obtained in the form of a continuous shield. Examples: apple tree, hawthorn, pear, spirea, plum.
- Simple umbrella - is a plant with a shortened main axis. Often it is so short that all the flowers on the same length of the pedicels seem to come out from the top of this axis. Examples: primrose, primrose, angelica, dill, carrots, onions, cherries, garlic and so on.
- The head is very remarkable that such an inflorescence is often called complex, since outwardly it is not easy. The main axis is so shortened that it is almost invisible, and numerous medium-sized flowers are collected in a dense cap at the top. At the same time, they either completely or almost have no pedicels, are sessile. This further complicates the overall design. Examples of plants: clover, alfalfa, adoxa, teasel and others.
- Basket - very similar to the head, only the main axis has a saucer-like thickening at the apex. Thus, it turns out that all the flowers seem to sit on one common basis. This inflorescence is especially common among members of the family Asteraceae. Examples: dandelion, sunflower, chamomile, cornflower, chicory, aster, butyak, Jerusalem artichoke, cosmea and others. Different types of flowers can be located in one basket: reed, funnel-shaped or false lingual. It depends on the type of plant. In addition, the leaves on the stem are very densely arranged, have a sessile leaf blade, wrapping around the base.
Complex inflorescences
This group includes those that are collected from several simple and are on the same plant. Moreover, these types of inflorescences have one feature: the elements included in the composition can be of the same type, as well as completely different. Sometimes it is very difficult to determine the type due to severe congestion and a combination of various signs. In total, complex inflorescences include five types.
Spike and umbrella
We have already explained what a complex inflorescence is. Now let's talk about specific varieties.
- An ear is a few simple spikelets collected on the main axis of one common structure. It turns out many of these components within the same plant. Most often, this type can be observed in cereals: rye, wheat, barley, oats, feather grass and others.
- A complex umbrella is built on the same principle, only from simple small umbrellas. Such inflorescences are typical for representatives of the family of the same name: chyme, angelica, celery, caraway seeds, hemlock, parsley, fennel and others.
Whisk and shield
A panicle is a complex inflorescence consisting of lateral branches of the main axis, on which flower brushes are located at different heights. Outwardly, such representatives are very reminiscent of pleiochasia (cyimoid inflorescences). Examples of plants: lilac, bonfire, wormwood, corn (male flower) and others.
The shield consists of a whole collection of simple inflorescences of the same name. It has the appearance of peduncles with flowers on top located at the same height and highly branching on different axes. Examples of plants: viburnum, elderberry and others.
Earring
This is a complex inflorescence, which is a hanging structure, completely dying off after fruiting or flowering of the plant. Brushes or spikelets of small nondescript flowers, most often white or pale in color, are collected on the main stem. Examples of plants: birch, alder, hazel, hazel, poplar and others.
Tsimoznye inflorescences
This is a group that is characterized by fan-like blooming of buds. This process begins with the topmost flower, which crowns the main axis. Then all underlying structures are connected. In total, three types can be attributed to this group of inflorescences:
- Monochasia. The second name is a single-beam perianth. The structure of such inflorescences is built on the principle of a spiral. The main axis ends with a single flower at the top, which blooms first when the time comes. Following it, a second bud, also single, opens, located on the lateral axis below the previous one. Then the third, also on a separate stalk of lateral branching. And so, in a spiral almost to the very bottom are the processes from the main stem, crowned with single flowers, usually of medium or large sizes.
- Dichasic inflorescences. The second name is the two-rayed perianth. Structurally complex structures. The main stem ends with a single flower, which blooms first. Then, laterally opposite sideways, lateral trunks depart, which outgrow the main one in height and also end in single flowers. Below are the third-order axes in the same style and so on. In general, it turns out to be a rather complex compositional structure, a bit like a simple umbrella.
- Playochasia. Its structure is similar to the complex inflorescences of an umbrella. In a different way it is called a multipath cone. What is it like? The main axis is long enough, ending with an apical flower, which opens first. Then the lateral axis departs from the main axis, several more secondary ones from it, and the following ones from them. Each small branch carries a single flower on top. In general, one plant with full bloom resembles a good voluminous bouquet of flowers.
Glomerulus - Tsimoznoe inflorescence
Special in structure, is not common. It looks like a densely stocked head. Many small flowers devoid of pedicels are twisted together into one common structure, called the glomerulus.
A typical example is the inflorescences of plants such as quinoa, beets, wild spinach, bramble, potash, gauze, hodgepodge and others.
Role and significance
Now it remains only to find out what is the meaning of inflorescences. Why are they formed in plants? Of course, for a person this has great aesthetic value. In addition, often it is flowers that become objects of medicinal use for the preparation of infusions, decoctions.
But for the plants themselves, the biological significance of inflorescences lies in the following provisions:
- The more small or medium-sized flowers are gathered together, the more noticeable will be the representative of the flora for pollinating insects. Moreover, if this is also supported by the bright color of the corollas.
- The formation of inflorescences allows plants to dump more pollen during gusts of wind and further disperse it.
- In forest thickets, flowers collected in inflorescences are more advantageous, since in this form it is difficult to cover them even with tree leaves, which means that they are visible to pollinators.
- From inflorescences, pollen dispersion during cross-pollination is more simple.
That is, the main role is to increase the level of reproduction, occupy a large territory for resettlement, and provide vital activity to future offspring.