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Racemosus

/ras-eh-MOH-sus/
🏷️ Taxonomy●●● Advanced

Also known as: racemosa, racemosum

A floral arrangement epithet indicating the plant bears its flowers in racemes — elongated, unbranched clusters where individual flowers are attached by short stalks along a central axis. Appears as racemosus (masculine), racemosa (feminine), or racemosum (neuter).

Etymology

From Latin racemus (a cluster of grapes or berries) + -osus (full of), meaning "full of clusters."

Example

Actaea racemosa (black cohosh) and Cimicifuga racemosa produce the tall, wand-like flower spikes that perfectly illustrate the racemose arrangement their epithet describes.