umbel

[ uhm-buh l ]

/ ˈʌm bəl /

noun Botany.

an inflorescence in which a number of flower stalks or pedicels, nearly equal in length, spread from a common center.

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Origin of umbel

1590–1600; < Latin umbella a sunshade, parasol, derivative of umbra shadow, shade; for formation see castellum

Words nearby umbel

um, umami, umar, umar tal, umayyad, umbel, umbellate, umbellet, umbelliferous, umbellule, umber

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for umbel

The point at the top of the stalk from which the blossoms grow is called the "umbel."
Wildflowers of the Farm|Arthur Owens Cooke
He strives clearly to reach the bottom, to penetrate even the vital center of the hortensia's umbel.
The Book of Masks|Remy de Gourmont
In like manner, a head of flowers becomes sometimes converted into an umbel.
Vegetable Teratology|Maxwell T. Masters
They are both strong-smelling plants with bulbous roots, radical leaves, and flowers arranged in an umbel with membranous spathes.
Field and Woodland Plants|William S. Furneaux

In Eryngium the shortening of the pedicels changes an umbel into a capitulum.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 5|Various

British Dictionary definitions for umbel

umbel

/ (ˈʌmbəl) /

noun

an inflorescence, characteristic of umbelliferous plants, in which the flowers arise from the same point in the main stem and have stalks of the same length, to give a cluster with the youngest flowers at the centre

Derived forms of umbel

umbellate (ˈʌmbɪlɪt, -ˌleɪt), umbellar (ʌmˈbɛlə) or umbellated, adjectiveumbellately, adverb

Word Origin for umbel

C16: from Latin umbella a sunshade, from umbra shade

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

Scientific definitions for umbel

umbel

[ ŭm′bəl ]

A flat or rounded indeterminate inflorescence in which the individual flower stalks (called pedicels) arise from about the same point on the stem at the tip of the peduncle. The geranium, milkweed, and onion have umbels. Umbels usually show centripetal inflorescence, with the lower or outer flowers blooming first.