Umbel in the context of "Fatsia"

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⭐ Core Definition: Umbel

In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin umbella "parasol, sunshade". The arrangement can vary from being flat-topped to almost spherical. Umbels can be simple or compound. The secondary umbels of compound umbels are known as umbellules or umbellets. A small umbel is called an umbellule. The arrangement of the inflorescence in umbels is referred to as umbellate, or occasionally subumbellate (almost umbellate).

Umbels are a characteristic of plants such as carrot, parsley, dill, and fennel in the family Apiaceae; ivy, Aralia and Fatsia in the family Araliaceae; and onion (Allium) in the family Alliaceae.

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Umbel in the context of Floating heart

Nymphoides, or floatingheart, is a genus of aquatic flowering plants in the family Menyanthaceae. The genus name refers to their resemblance to the water lily Nymphaea. Nymphoides are aquatic plants with submerged roots and floating leaves that hold the small flowers above the water surface. Flowers are sympetalous, most often divided into five lobes (petals). The petals are either yellow or white, and may be adorned with lateral wings or covered in small hairs. The inflorescence consists of either an umbellate cluster of flowers or a lax raceme, with internodes occurring between generally paired flowers.

Species of Nymphoides are sold as aquarium plants, including the "banana plant", N. aquatica and the "water snowflake", N. indica. Species native to the United States are N. cordata in the northeast and N. aquatica in the southeast. Nymphoides peltata is native to Europe and Asia, but can be found in the United States as an invasive aquatic weed. The non-native species N. cristata and N. indica also reportedly occur in Florida (Jacono 2000).

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Umbel in the context of Prunus subg. Cerasus

Prunus subg. Cerasus is a subgenus of Prunus, commonly known as the true cherries. Species of the subgenus have a single winter bud per axil. The flowers are usually in small corymbs or umbels of several together (occasionally solitary, e.g. P. serrula), but some species have short racemes (e.g. P. maacki). The fruit is a drupe and has no obvious groove along the side. The subgenus is native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with two species in North America (P. emarginata and P. pensylvanica), four in Europe (P. avium, P. cerasus, P. fruticosa and P. mahaleb), two in North Africa (P. avium and P. mahaleb), and the remainder in Asia.

The fresh fruits of sweet cherry (worldwide) and Chinese cherry (in China) are consumed raw. The fruits of some species such as sour cherry are used to make desserts, sauce, jam and wine. The seeds of mahaleb cherry are used to make mahleb. Many species are cultivated as an ornamental tree, known as cherry blossoms.

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Umbel in the context of Celery

Celery (Apium graveolens Dulce Group or Apium graveolens var. dulce) is a cultivated plant belonging to the species Apium graveolens in the family Apiaceae that has been used as a vegetable since ancient times.

The original wild species has been selectively bred over centuries into three primary cultivar groups: stalk celery (Dulce Group), consumed for its fibrous edible stalks; leaf celery (Secalinum Group), grown for its aromatic leaves; and celeriac (Rapaceum Group), cultivated for its large, edible hypocotyl. Celery is characterized by its long, ribbed stalks, pinnate leaves, and small white flowers arranged in umbels.

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Umbel in the context of Parsnip

The parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is a root vegetable closely related to carrot and parsley, all belonging to the flowering plant family Apiaceae. It is a biennial plant usually grown as an annual. Its long taproot has cream-colored skin and flesh, and, left in the ground to mature, becomes sweeter in flavor after winter frosts. In its first growing season, the plant has a rosette of pinnate, mid-green leaves. If unharvested, it produces a flowering stem topped by an umbel of small yellow flowers in its second growing season, later producing pale brown, flat, winged seeds. By this time, the stem has become woody, and the taproot inedible. Precautions should be taken when handling the stems and foliage, as parsnip sap can cause a skin rash or even blindness if exposed to sunlight after handling.

The parsnip is native to Eurasia; it has been used as a vegetable since antiquity and was cultivated by the Romans, although some confusion exists between parsnips and carrots in the literature of the time. It was used as a sweetener before the arrival of cane sugar in Europe.

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Umbel in the context of Keteleeria

Keteleeria is a genus of three species of coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae first described as a genus in 1866.

The genus name Keteleeria honours J.B. Keteleer (1813–1903), a French nurseryman. The group is related to the genera Nothotsuga and Pseudolarix. It is distinguished from Nothotsuga by the much larger cones, and from Pseudolarix by the evergreen leaves and the cones not disintegrating readily at maturity. All three genera share the unusual feature of male cones produced in umbels of several together from a single bud, and also in their ability, very rare in the Pinaceae, of being able to coppice.

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Umbel in the context of Menyanthaceae

Menyanthaceae is a family of aquatic and wetland plants in the order Asterales. There are approximately 60 to 70 species in six genera distributed worldwide. The simple or compound leaves arise alternately from a creeping rhizome. In the submersed aquatic genus Nymphoides, leaves are floating and support a lax, umbellate or racemose inflorescence. In other genera the inflorescence is erect and consists of one (e.g., Liparophyllum) to many flowers. The sympetalous, insect-pollinated flowers are five-parted and either yellow or white. The petals are ciliate or adorned with lateral wings. Fruit type is a capsule.

Species of Menyanthaceae are found worldwide. The genera Menyanthes and Nephrophyllidium grow only in the northern hemisphere, while Liparophyllum and Villarsia occur only in the southern hemisphere. Nymphoides species have a cosmopolitan distribution.

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Umbel in the context of Allium

Allium is a large genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants with around 1000 accepted species, making Allium the largest genus in the family Amaryllidaceae and among the largest plant genera in the world. Many of the species are edible, and some have a long history of cultivation and human consumption as a vegetable including the onion, garlic, scallions, shallots, leeks, and chives.

Allium species occur in temperate climates of the Northern Hemisphere, except for a few species occurring in Chile (such as A. juncifolium), Brazil (A. sellovianum), and tropical Africa (A. spathaceum). They vary in height between 5–150 centimetres (2–59 in). The flowers form an umbel at the top of a leafless stalk. The bulbs vary in size between species, from small (around 2–3 mm in diameter) to rather large (8–10 cm). Some species (such as Welsh onion A. fistulosum and leeks (A. ampeloprasum)) develop thickened leaf-bases rather than forming bulbs as such.

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Umbel in the context of Araliaceae

The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants commonly called the ivy or ginseng family. The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely, but it is predominantly distinguishable based on its woody habit, tropical distribution, and the presence of simple umbels.

There are numerous plants of economic importance. Some genera, such as Hedera (the ivies), Fatsia (Japanese aralias) and Heptapleurum (formerly Schefflera, the umbrella trees), are used as ornamental foliage plants. The family also includes Panax ginseng, the root of which is ginseng, used in traditional Chinese medicine.

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Umbel in the context of Corymb

Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial resemblance towards an umbel, and may have a branching structure similar to a panicle. Flowers in a corymb structure can either be parallel, or alternate, and form in either a convex, or flat form.

Many species in the Maloideae, such as hawthorns and rowans, produce their flowers in corymbs. The Norway maple and yerba maté are also examples of corymbs.

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