súkvetia

Súkvetia is the Slovak botanical term for inflorescence, the arrangement of flowers on a flowering stem. It describes how flowers are grouped and displayed along the main axis and its branches, including the pedicels that hold individual flowers and any bracts that surround them. The structure of a súkvetie can affect pollination efficiency, flowering duration, and the sequence in which flowers open, and it is a key feature in plant identification and classification.

Common inflorescence types include raceme, spike, panicle, umbel, corymb, and capitulum. A raceme has flowers on short stalks (pedicels) along a central axis; a spike bears sessile flowers directly on the axis. A panicle is branched, with a compound arrangement of pedicels. An umbel has all pedicels radiating from a common point, like Allium species. A corymb forms a flat or rounded crown as pedicels of different lengths reach the same level. A capitulum (flower head) is a dense cluster of sessile flowers typical of daisies and sunflowers. Some plants exhibit specialized or mixed inflorescences, including compound umbels or cymose arrangements such as the dichasium.

Inflorescence form can reflect ecological strategies, such as attracting pollinators or exploiting wind dispersal, and it is widely used in taxonomy and horticulture. In cultivation, inflorescence architecture informs pruning, harvest timing, and aesthetic design.