Which inflorescence is characterized by the main axis terminating in a flower?

Which inflorescence is characterized by the main axis terminating in a flower?

• A. Cymose Inflorescence
• B. Racemose Inflorescence
• C. Thalamus/Receptacle
• D. Bisexual

Answer: (A)

In cymose inflorescences, the apex of the main flowering stalk ends in a flower. This makes the inflorescence determinate: after the terminal flower forms, growth stops at the tip and later flowers arise from below on lateral branches. That pattern exactly matches “the main axis terminating in a flower.” Racemose inflorescences, by contrast, are indeterminate—the main axis keeps growing and keeps producing flowers from the sides, so there isn’t a terminal flower at the tip. The other terms aren’t inflorescence types: thalamus/receptacle is a floral part where the organs attach, and bisexual describes a flower with both male and female organs.

In cymose inflorescences, the apex of the main flowering stalk ends in a flower. This makes the inflorescence determinate: after the terminal flower forms, growth stops at the tip and later flowers arise from below on lateral branches. That pattern exactly matches “the main axis terminating in a flower.”

Racemose inflorescences, by contrast, are indeterminate—the main axis keeps growing and keeps producing flowers from the sides, so there isn’t a terminal flower at the tip. The other terms aren’t inflorescence types: thalamus/receptacle is a floral part where the organs attach, and bisexual describes a flower with both male and female organs.