Pedicel (botany)

A pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as pedicellate.

The inflorescence of Delphinium nuttallianum. Each flower is held on a pedicel from one to several centimeters long.

Description

Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence.[1] In the absence of a pedicel, the flowers are described as sessile. Pedicel is also applied to the stem of the infructescence. The word "pedicel" is derived from the Latin pediculus, meaning "little foot".[2] The stem or branch from the main stem of the inflorescence that holds a group of pedicels is called a peduncle.[3] A pedicel may be associated with a bract or bracts.[4]


In cultivation

In Halloween types of pumpkin or squash plants, the shape of the pedicel has received particular attention because plant breeders are trying to optimize the size and shape of the pedicel for the best "lid" for a "jack-o'-lantern".[5]

Diagram of flower parts
  • Long pedicels of clasping milkweed with a single peduncle
  • Cherry pedicels in flower and fruit
  • Pumpkin pedicel
  • Sessile flowers (lacking pedicels) of common motherwort
gollark: I like the Ender IO (Minecraft mod) staff of traveling (short-range personal teleporter), so either that or a really really good computer (for purposes).
gollark: It might be interesting to consider what the graph of the connections would look like. Depending on how far apart habitats are in the network, there could still be a lot of variation between them.
gollark: I mean that you could enclose an area with protected chunks containing impassable-without-breaking-them walls.
gollark: It would only make sense if you were protecting a rather large interior area though.
gollark: Actually, I figure you could just fill them with a very thick and tall wall (to prevent chorus fruit).

See also

References
  1. Hickey, M.; King, C. (2001). The Cambridge Illustrated Glossary of Botanical Terms. Cambridge University Press.
  2. Walter William Skeat (1898). An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language (3 ed.). Clarendon Press. p. 430.
  3. Chris Bird, ed. (2014). The Fundamentals of Horticulture: Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press. p. 136. ISBN 9781107782549.
  4. EB 2019.
  5. Breeding a better pumpkin - Technology & science - Science | NBC News

Bibliography


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