# Raceme > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Raceme > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Raceme.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raceme > Source revision: 1311314895 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Flowers on short stalks along the stem}} {{About|the botanical term|mixtures of chiral compounds in chemistry|Racemates}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}} [[File:Phalaenopsis - Feburary 2022 - Sarah Stierch 02.jpg|thumb|right|The [inflorescence](/source/inflorescence) of a ''[Phalaenopsis](/source/Phalaenopsis)'' [orchid](/source/orchid) is a typical raceme.]] A '''raceme''' ({{IPAc-en|r|eɪ|ˈ|s|iː|m|,_|r|ə|-}}) or '''racemoid''' is an unbranched, [indeterminate](/source/indeterminate_growth) type of [inflorescence](/source/inflorescence) bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the shoot grows in height, with no predetermined growth limit. Examples of racemes occur on mustard ([genus](/source/genus) ''[Brassica](/source/Brassica)''), radish (genus ''[Raphanus](/source/Raphanus)''), and orchid (genus ''[Phalaenopsis](/source/Phalaenopsis)'') plants. == Definition == A ''raceme'' or ''racemoid'' is an unbranched, [indeterminate](/source/indeterminate_growth) type of [inflorescence](/source/inflorescence) bearing pedicellate [flower](/source/flower)s (flowers having short floral stalks called ''[pedicels](/source/Pedicel_(botany))'') along its axis.{{cite book |last1=Walters |first1=Dirk R. |last2=Keil |first2=David J. |title=Vascular Plant Taxonomy |url=https://archive.org/details/vascularplanttax00walt |url-access=registration |edition=4th |date=1 January 1996 |publisher=Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company |location=United States |isbn=978-0-7872-2108-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/vascularplanttax00walt/page/602 602] }} In [botany](/source/botany), an ''axis'' means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In indeterminate inflorescence-like racemes, the oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the shoot grows in height, with no predetermined growth limit. A plant that flowers on a showy raceme may have this reflected in its scientific name, e.g. the [species](/source/species) ''[Actaea racemosa](/source/Actaea_racemosa)''. A compound raceme, also called a [panicle](/source/panicle), has a branching main axis. Examples of racemes occur on mustard ([genus](/source/genus) ''[Brassica](/source/Brassica)'') and radish (genus ''[Raphanus](/source/Raphanus)'') plants. === Spike === A '''spike''' is an unbranched, indeterminate inflorescence, similar to a raceme, but bearing sessile flowers (sessile flowers are attached directly, without stalks). Examples occur on Malabar nut (''[Justicia adhatoda](/source/Justicia_adhatoda)'') and chaff flowers (genus ''[Achyranthes](/source/Achyranthes)''). A '''[spikelet](/source/spikelet)''' can refer to a small spike, although it primarily refers to the ultimate flower cluster unit in grasses ([family Poaceae](/source/Poaceae)) and sedges (family [Cyperaceae](/source/Cyperaceae)),{{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 }} in which case the stalk supporting the cluster becomes the pedicel. A true spikelet comprises one or more florets enclosed by two [glume](/source/glume)s (sterile [bract](/source/bract)s), with flowers and glumes arranged in two opposite rows along the spikelet. Examples occur on rice (species ''[Oryza sativa](/source/Oryza_sativa)'') and wheat (genus ''[Triticum](/source/wheat)''), both grasses. === Catkin === An [ament or catkin](/source/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](/source/Pussy_willow), [alder](/source/alder), [and] [birch](/source/birch)". These are sometimes called ''amentaceous plants''.{{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 }} === Spadix === A [spadix](/source/Spadix_(botany)) 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](/source/bract)s called ''[spathe](/source/spathe)s''. Usually the female flowers grow at the base, and male flowers grow above.{{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 }} They are a characteristic of the family [Araceae](/source/Araceae), for example jack-in-the-pulpit (species ''[Arisaema triphyllum](/source/Arisaema_triphyllum)'') and wild calla (genus ''[Calla](/source/Calla)''). ==Examples== File:Traube (inflorescence).svg|{{center|Raceme}} File:Inflorescences Spike Kwiatostan Kłos.svg|{{center|Spike}} File:Kätzchen (inflorescence).svg|{{Center|Catkin}} File:Kolben (inflorescence).svg|{{center|Spadix}} File:Spathoglottis flwrs reduced.jpg|The inflorescence of ''[Spathoglottis plicata](/source/Spathoglottis_plicata)'', a [terrestrial](/source/terrestrial_plant) [orchid](/source/orchid), is a typical raceme File:Backlit xeronema flower raceme.jpg|Tightly packed raceme of ''[Xeronema callistemon](/source/Xeronema_callistemon)'', with prominent red [stamen](/source/stamen)s File:Pycreus.jpg|Every radiating unit in this inflorescence of a ''[Cyperus](/source/Cyperus)'' sedge is a spikelet composed of small flowers (florets) arranged in two ranks ==Etymology== From classical Latin, a ''racemus'' is a [cluster of grapes](/source/cluster_of_grapes).Oxford English Dictionary. Raceme 2. Bot. A type of inflorescence in which the flowers are arranged on short, nearly equal, lateral pedicels, at equal distances along a single elongated axis ==See also== * [Inflorescence](/source/Inflorescence) * [Glossary of botanical terms](/source/Glossary_of_botanical_terms) ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Commons category}} {{botany|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}} Category:Flowers Category:Plant morphology [sv:Blomställning#Typer av blomställningar](/source/sv%3ABlomst%C3%A4llning) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Raceme](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raceme) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raceme?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.