raceme

American  

[rey-seem, ruh-] / reɪˈsim, rə- /

noun

Botany.

1. a simple indeterminate inflorescence in which the flowers are borne on short pedicels lying along a common axis, as in the lily of the valley.

2. a compound inflorescence in which the short pedicels with single flowers of the simple raceme are replaced by racemes.

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raceme British  

/ rəˈsiːm /

noun

1. an inflorescence in which the flowers are borne along the main stem, with the oldest flowers at the base. It can be simple, as in the foxglove, or compound See panicle

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raceme Scientific  

/ rə-sēm′ /

1. An indeterminate inflorescence in which each flower grows on its own stalk from a common stem. The lily of the valley and snapdragon have racemes.

2. See illustration at inflorescence

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Other Word Forms

• racemed
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of raceme

First recorded in 1775–85, raceme is from the Latin word racēmus cluster of grapes, bunch of berries

Example Sentences

I know the difference between a raceme and a rhizome, I explicate photosynthesis, I can spell Scrofulariaciae.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

A large-flowered perennial, with oblong smooth leaves and a glandular-downy raceme; sepals short; corolla 1½–2´ long, purple or white.—Eastward, escaping from gardens.

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

Finely appressed-pubescent, 2–3° high; leaflets rhombic-lanceolate, 1–3´ long; stipules narrow, mostly shorter than the petiole; raceme elongated; pods narrow, short stipitate, somewhat curved, 2–4´ long.—Mountains of S. Va. and N. C.

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

Stem bearing a pair of opposite sessile leaves in the middle, and a spike or raceme of greenish or brownish-purple small flowers.

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

Flowers.—White; in a loose raceme; nine lines across.

From The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits by Parsons, Mary Elizabeth