Panicle
/PAN-ih-kul/🌸 Flower Parts●● Intermediate
Also known as: compound raceme
A much-branched inflorescence in which each branch bears a raceme or further branches of flowers. Panicles create large, showy, often pyramidal flower clusters. They are characteristic of many grasses, lilacs, hydrangeas (specifically paniculate types), and astilbes. The term describes the overall branching architecture rather than individual flower arrangement.
Etymology
Latin panicula (tuft on plants, diminutive of panus)
Example
“Hydrangea paniculata produces large, cone-shaped panicles of white flowers that age to pink.”