Corymb is a
botanical
Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
term for an
inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
with the
flower
Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
s growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer
pedicels
In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branch ...
than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial resemblance towards an
umbel
UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...
, and may have a branching structure similar to a
panicle
In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...
. Flowers in a corymb structure can either be parallel, or alternate, and form in either a convex, or flat form.
Many species in the
Maloideae, such as
hawthorns and
rowans, produce their flowers in corymbs. The
Norway maple and
yerba maté are also examples of corymbs.
The word ''corymb'' is derived from the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
word κόρυμβος, meaning "bunch of flowers or fruit".
(racemose corymb)
Image:Schirmrispe (inflorescence).svg, Cymose corymb
Image:Sambucus nigra 003.jpg, '' Sambucus nigra'' or elder
(cymose corymb)
References
Plant morphology
{{plant-morphology-stub