Cyathium
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cyathium
[sī′ath·ē·əm] (botany)
An inflorescence in which the flowers arise from the base of a cuplike involucre.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Cyathium
a type of inflorescence characteristic of plants of the family Euphorbiaceae. A cyathium consists of a terminal apetalous pistillate flower surrounded by five groups (compound monochasium) of staminate flowers. Each flower has a single stamen whose anther filament is joined to the flower stalk. The inflorescence is enclosed by a cuplike involucre with nectar glands. A cyathium resembles a single flower (anthodium).
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.