Morphology of Flowering Plants Test 56

A cluster of flowers within a plant that may contain one to many flowers. There may be several inflorescences on a single plant. In the grass and sedge families (Poaceae and Cyperaceae, respectively) the apparent inflorescences are, strictly speaking, synflorescences. The basic unit of the inflorescence is called a spikelet typically consisting of a basal pair of minute sterile bracts called glumes and one or more distichously arranged distal florets on an often zigzag extension of the spikelet axis called the rachilla. Each floret is typically embraced by an additional pair of minute chaffy bracts called the lemma and the palea.

Arachis hypogaea is the botanical name of peanut or groundnut. It is an annual herbaceous plant in the Fabaceae (legume or bean family). Although appearing as and referred to as a nut, it is actually the underground pod of a legume, rather than a true nut.

Stamens that have lost their primary function of pollen production, or staminodes, occur uncommonly within angiosperms, but frequently fulfill important secondary floral functions. In Caesalpiniodeae, stamens mostly 10 or fewer by reduction to staminodes.

Root is the organ of the plant which though generally are below the soil and help in anchoring and absorbing of minerals and nutrients by the plants, some are also aerial roots. Cynodon dactylon is a member of the Poaceae family. These have scaly rhizomes (underground stems) where these are heavily branched with roots at the nodes.Its propagation is by rhizomes, stolons or seeds. The offset is a modified stem, i.e runner which is one internode long. 

On the basis of fowers and inflorescence the most advanced family in angiosperms is Asteraceae. Asteraceae are mostly herbaceous plants, but some shrubs, trees and climbers do exist. Asteraceae are generally easy to distinguish from other plants, mainly because of their characteristic inflorescence and other shared characteristics. The Asteraceae commonly referred to as or sunflower family are an exceedingly large and widespread family of Angiospermae. The name Asteraceae comes from Aster, the most prominent genus in the family, that means star, and is connected with its inflorescence star form. As for the term Compositae, more ancient but still valid, it obviously makes reference to the fact that the family is one of the few angiosperm ones to have composite flowers. This family has a remarkable ecological and economical importance. The Asteraceae may represent as much as 10% of autochthonous flora in many regions of the world. Most members of Asteraceae are herbaceous,but a significant number are also shrubs, vines, or trees. The family has a  worldwide distribution and is most common in the arid and semiarid regions of subtropical and lower temperate latitudes. The Asteraceae are an economically important family.

Depending upon the mode of branching of peduncle, the inflorescences are of two main types - Recaulescent and Concaulescent.
When the bract is attached to the stem holding the flower (the pedicel or
peduncle), it is said to be recaulescent; sometimes these bracts or bracteolesare highly modified and appear to be appendages of the flower calyx. 
Recaulescences is the fusion of the subtending leaf with the stem holding the bud or the bud itself, thus the leaf or bract is adnate to the stem of flower. When the formation of the bud is shifted up the stem distinctly above the subtending leaf, it is described as concaulescent.

The 'bird of paradise flower', or 'crane flower' as it is sometimes known, was first introduced into Britain in 1773 by Sir Joseph Banks. The plant itself can reach up to 5 feet in height with a 2-3 foot spread. The plant is trunk less, compact and clustering but slow growing with fleshy roots. S. reginae has banana shaped stiff- leathery, concave, oblong, bluish-gray leaves with a pale or red midrib. The leaves are attached to a long stalk that sometimes reaches up to 2 feet in length.

Dicots showing parallel venation are Calophyllum and Corymbium.