Simulation · Biology · Class 11
Grow a floral axis
From the lesson Racemose and cymose inflorescence in Morphology of Flowering Plants. Change the values and watch what happens.
Grow a floral axisBiology · Class 11
The idea behind it
NCERT §5.4, Figures 5.7–5.8
- A flower is a modified shoot. The shoot apical meristem turns into a floral meristem, the internodes stay short so the axis is condensed, and the apex produces floral appendages at successive nodes in place of leaves.
- When a shoot tip itself becomes a flower, that flower is always solitary.
- Inflorescence: the way flowers are arranged on the floral axis.
- The two major types are defined by one question: does the apex turn into a flower, or does it keep growing?
- Racemose: the main axis goes on growing, and flowers are borne on its sides in acropetal succession, so the oldest flowers are at the base and the youngest near the tip.
- Cymose: the main axis ends in a flower, so its growth is limited, and the flowers open in basipetal order, the oldest at the top.