Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.
Umbel
In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin umbella "parasol, sunshade".[1] The arrangement can vary from being flat-topped to almost spherical. Umbels can be simple or compound. The secondary umbels of compound umbels are known as umbellules[2] or umbellets.[3] A small umbel is called an umbellule.[3] The arrangement of the inflorescence in umbels is referred to as umbellate, or occasionally subumbellate (almost umbellate).
Umbels are a characteristic of plants such as carrot, parsley, dill, and fennel in the family Apiaceae; ivy, Aralia and Fatsia in the family Araliaceae; and onion (Allium) in the family Alliaceae.
An umbel is a type of indeterminate inflorescence.[3][4] A compressed cyme, which is a determinate inflorescence, is called umbelliform if it resembles an umbel.
- ^ umbel etymology
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
focwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c Beentje, H.; Williamson, J. (2010). The Kew Plant Glossary: an Illustrated Dictionary of Plant Terms. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Kew Publishing.
- ^ Walters, D.R.; Keil, D.J. (1975). Vascular Plant Taxonomy. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
Previous Page Next Page
