Inflorescence - Peduncle

[Richard Jensen]

"Thomas G. Lammers" wrote:

I'm sort of curious why it matters.  Anatomically, there are three organs:

> root, stem, leaf.  Peduncle is stem.  Any decision to include it in or
> exclude it from the inflorescence would just be convention, it seems to me.

Seems to me it matters a lot.  Not all stems develop into inflorescences.  In some
inflorescences the peduncle is part of a very well defined unit, e.g., the catkins
of Quercus.  However, in other cases there is what appears to be a gradual
transition from stem to peduncle, e,g, in Solidago caesia  the flowers are produced
in axillary and terminal clusters - are the structures subtending these leaves or
floral bracts?  Is there a clear demarcation between inflorescence and
non-inflorescence?

I see it as a question of importance in that we speak of the inflorescence as an
"organ" and if we are to consider it a distinct part of the plant, then we need to
be able to clearly identify exactly what constitutes the inflorescence.

Cheers,

Dick

--
Richard J. Jensen              | tel: 574-284-4674
Department of Biology      | fax: 574-284-4716
Saint Mary's College         | e-mail: rjensen at saintmarys.edu
Notre Dame, IN 46556    | http://www.saintmarys.edu/~rjensen