Diachasium

In plants with opposite branching the terminal bud of the stem forms a flower and the two axillary branches at the first node below the flower elongate. Each of these forms a flower, and again the the two axillary buds at the next node of each branch elongate, forming flowers and continues the procedure. The result is a more or less flat-topped cluster of buds, flowers, and fruits with the oldest fruit in the center. This development can continue to an unrestricted size (diameter but not length) because there is no theoretical limit to the repitition of development of the pair of axillary buds into flowers with accompanying development of a pair of subordinate axillary buds.



Credit: http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORAgallery.html

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