CORRECT TERMINOLOGY FOR PROTEA INFLORESCENCES

The situation is frequently encountered in the literature that an inconsistent terminology is used when reference is made to the Protea inflorescence.
Terms such as flowers, flower heads, inflorescences, inner flower bracts, outer flower bracts, peduncles, stems etc are commonly and indiscriminately used.

The following terminology for the inflorescence and sub-parts of the inflorescence of the Genus Protea is recommended:

• The inflorescence is called a flower head and is borne at the end of a flowering branch (Fig 1).

• Each flower head consists of many florets (individual flowers) crowded on the involucral receptacle and surrounded by the involucral bracts (Fig 2).

• The involucral bracts are grouped into series, e g Protea magnifica having 9–10 rows; P. neriifolia having 11 rows and P. grandiceps having 8 rows.

• The bracts of the lower (outer) rows are shorter and scaly and are called scaly bracts whereas the bracts of the inner rows are longer and showy and are called the inner or coloured bracts (Fig 3).

• Individual florets are sessile on the receptacle and have four perianth segments which consist of 3 adaxial fused segments and 1 abaxial free segment.

Suggestions recommending various inflorescence parts of the other genera of the family Proteaceae will be welcomed by the author.

I International Protea Research Symposium

J. Pretorius

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1986.185.33