A
raceme ( or ) is an unbranched,
indeterminate type of
inflorescence bearing
pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called
pedicels — along its axis. In
botany, an
axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In indeterminate inflorescence-like racemes, the oldest flowers are borne towards the base and new flowers are produced as the shoot grows, with no predetermined growth limit. A plant that flowers on a showy raceme may have this reflected in its scientific name, e.g.
Cimicifuga racemosa. A compound raceme, also called a
panicle, has a branching main axis. Examples of racemes occur on mustard (genus
Brassica) and radish (genus
Raphanus) plants.