Racemose and paniculate inflorescences

[sockhom]

Nepenthes flowers range from racemose to paniculate.


-A raceme (latin "racemus": bunch of grapes) is an inflorescence having stalked flowers arranged usually singly along an elongated unbranched axis.

This is a raceme of Nepenthes bokorensis:



Most Nepenthes species develops a raceme of of 1 or 2 flowered partial peduncles.




- A panicle (Latin "panicula, panus", a swelling, main stalk of a panicle) is a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes.

See the panicle of N. madagascarienis (Picture taken by Kinabalu / Jacques Besnard):




Note that the difference between the two kind of inflorescences is not that simple.

According to Jebb and Cheek (1997): "Towards the apex of the inflorescence in all species, the partial peduncles are invariably fewer-flowered, and many species, even the paniculate ones, may have variants with wholly 1-flowered partial peduncles (racemes). Sometimes inflorescences with partial peduncles entirely 1- and 2- flower-peduncles occur on the same plant (N. spectabilis)."

There are other species with 2-flowered partial peduncles such as N. insignis, N. klossii, N. maxima, N. treubiana.

Species like N. sanguinea develops a raceme with 2-flowers peduncle (pedicel).
I noted on N. bokor that the raceme regularly develops both peduncle and 2-flowered pedicels.






Few species have paniculate inflorescences. Here is a provisional list:

- N. madagascariensis;
- N. masoalensis;
- N. pervillei;
- N. distillatoria;
- N. tomoriana;
- N. danseri;
- N. neoguineensis;
- N. paniculata;
- N. ampullaria;
- N. bicalcarata.


François Mey.