Cyathium

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 It might be outdated or ideologically biased.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.