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 umbellules2 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.34 A compressed cyme, which is a determinate inflorescence, is called umbelliform if it resembles an umbel.
Gallery
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Compound umbel of a hemlock-parsley, Conioselinum pacificum (Apiaceae) -
Compound umbel of a wild carrot, Daucus carota (Apiaceae) -
Simple umbel of Fatsia japonica (Araliaceae) -
Involucrate simple umbels of Primula veris -
Umbel of a Pelargonium zonale -
Daucus carota umbel down view
References
References
- umbel etymology
- Menglan She; Fading Pu; Zehui Pan; Mark Watson; John F. M. Cannon; Ingrid Holmes-Smith; Eugene V. Kljuykov; Loy R. Phillippe; Michael G. Pimenov. "Apiaceae Lindley". Flora of China. Vol. 14. Retrieved 15 January 2019 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
- 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.
Further reading
Further reading
- Hinderer, Walter; Noé, Wolfgang; Seitz, Hanns Ulrich (1983). "Differentiation of metabolic pathways in the umbel of Daucus carota". Phytochemistry. 22 (11): 2417–2420. Bibcode:1983PChem..22.2417H. doi:10.1016/0031-9422(83)80131-9. ISSN 0031-9422.
- Toben, H.-M.; Rudoph, K (1996). "Pseudomonas syringae pv. coriandricola, Incitant of Bacterial Umbel Blight and Seed Decay of Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) in Germany". Journal of Phytopathology. 144 (4): 169–178. Bibcode:1996JPhyt.144..169T. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0434.1996.tb01510.x. ISSN 0931-1785.
- Peterson, L. E.; Clark, R. J.; Menary, R. C. (1993). "Umbel Initiation and Stem Elongation in Fennel(Foeniculum vulgare)Initiated by Photoperiod". Journal of Essential Oil Research. 5 (1): 37–43. doi:10.1080/10412905.1993.9698168. ISSN 1041-2905.