inflorescence
Americannoun
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a flowering or blossoming.
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Botany.
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the arrangement of flowers on the axis.
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the flowering part of a plant.
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a flower cluster.
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flowers collectively.
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noun
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the part of a plant that consists of the flower-bearing stalks
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the arrangement of the flowers on the stalks
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the process of flowering; blossoming
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A group of flowers growing from a common stem, often in a characteristic arrangement.
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Also called flower cluster
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inflorescence
First recorded in 1750–60; from New Latin inflōrēscentia, from Late Latin inflōrēscent- (stem of inflōrēscēns present participle of inflōrēscere “to bloom 1; ” see in- 2, flora, -escent, -ence
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A true titan with the largest inflorescence on Earth it radiates an intoxicating perfume that has been described as a blend of dead fish, rotting cabbage and garlic.
From Salon • May 27, 2025
Its big pink inflorescence can last half a year.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 22, 2023
In fact willow flowers are called “catkins” — a botanical term derived from the Old Dutch word for kitten, “katteken,” basically a long inflorescence packed with many tiny flowers.
From New York Times • Apr. 4, 2018
Nevertheless, the advertisements for allergy medications are full of blooms that don’t cause allergies — a daisy reads better than a gramineous inflorescence.
From Washington Post • Sep. 5, 2017
Leaves mostly entire and plants often rough-hispid; inflorescence commonly scorpioid.
From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
