Australian Tropical Rainforest Orchids

Number of open flowers (per inflorescence)

The number of flowers open on the inflorescence at one time. The way that flowers open can impact on their pollination by insects.


One flower open at a time: a pplies to plants that have a single-flowered inflorescence and to species with a mulit-flowered inflorescence where one flower opens at a time and is shed before the next flower develops.

Multiple flowers, opening sequentially: the inflorescence is multi-flowered with the flowers opening sequentially, usually from the basal flowers upwards but occasionally from the apex downwards.

All flowers opening simultaneously: the inflorescence has multiple flowers. In some species all these flowers open simultaneously, in others groups of flowers along the inflorescence open together.