corymb

[kawr-imb, -im, kor-]

noun Botany.

a form of inflorescence in which the flowers form a flat-topped or convex cluster, the outermost flowers being the first to open.

Origin of corymb

1700–10; < Latin corymbus < Greek kórymbos head, top, cluster of fruit or flowers

Related formscor·ymbed, adjectivecor·ymb·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for corymb

Historical Examples of corymb

Flowers large, to 2/3 in., many in a corymb, on glandular peduncles.
Trees of the Northern United States
Austin C. Apgar
The axis of a corymb is short in proportion to the lower pedicels.
The Elements of Botany
Asa Gray
Corymbose, in corymbs, approaching the form of a corymb, or branched in that way.
The Elements of Botany
Asa Gray
Second, the cauliflower, which is a cluster (corymb) of forced cabbage flowers.
The Century Cook Book
Mary Ronald
Ivy-branches, dividing both ways from the handle, surround its rim with a delicate tracery of sharp-cut leaf and corymb.
Studies of the Greek Poets (Vol II of 2)
John Addington Symonds

British Dictionary definitions for corymb

corymb

noun

an inflorescence in the form of a flat-topped flower cluster with the oldest flowers at the periphery. This type of raceme occurs in the candytuft

Derived Formscorymbed, adjectivecorymbose or corymbous, adjectivecorymbosely, adverb

Word Origin for corymb

C18: from Latin corymbus, from Greek korumbos cluster

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

corymb in Science

corymb

[kôr′ĭmb, -ĭm]

An indeterminate inflorescence whose outer flowers have longer stalks than the inner flowers, so that together they form a round cluster that is rather flat on top. The outer flowers open before the inner ones. Yarrow and the hawthorn have corymbs. See illustration at inflorescence.