Unifloreous

Unifloreous is an adjective used in botany to describe a plant that bears only a single flower. This term is in contrast to plants that produce multiple flowers, such as those that are multiflorous or inflorescent. A unifloreous plant typically has a solitary flower at the apex of its stem or on a dedicated stalk. The existence of only one flower can have various implications for the plant's reproductive strategy. For instance, it might concentrate resources on the development of a single, potentially more attractive or larger, bloom to enhance its chances of pollination. This can be a strategy employed by plants with specific pollination syndromes or those that are less common and need to maximize every reproductive opportunity. Examples of unifloreous plants can be found across different plant families, though the term is not as commonly used as more general descriptions of flowering. When observing a plant with only one flower, the term unifloreous provides a precise botanical classification for this characteristic.