An inflorescence is a collection of flowers in a particular branching pattern that does not contain full-size leaves among the flowers. While there are many kinds of inflorescences to be found in flowering plants (angiosperms), each species has its own form of inflorescence, which varies only minimally in individual plants. However, if a plant bears only a single flower, or makes many single flowers scattered on a tree with interspersed leaves, no inflorescences are said to be present.

Inflorescences (sometimes called flower stalks) can be divided into two main categories, with many types within each. These two categories are determinate and indeterminate, and can be distinguished by the order in which the flowers mature and open. Determinate inflorescences mature from the top down (or the inside out, depending on the overall shape of the inflorescence). In other words, the oldest and therefore largest flowers (or flower buds) on...