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Phlox Subulata (moss pink) in landscape. Photo © Elaine Mills
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Peduncle

peduncle [ pi-DUHNG-kuhl, PEE-duhng- ] noun: the main stalk of a solitary flower (or fruit) or of an inflorescence (or infructescence)

What’s stalking flowers and foliage? We call leafstalks petioles. Flower stalks, on the other hand, may be referred to as either peduncles or pedicels. A peduncle is the stalk that joins the base of a solitary flower/fruit or a cluster of flowers/fruits (inflorescence/infructescence) to the main stem above a subtending bract, leaf, or node. Within an inflorescence/infructescence, the stalk of each individual flower/fruit is called a pedicel, which attaches the base of that flower/fruit to the main axis of the inflorescence/infructescence or its branches above the peduncle. For example, a peduncle holds a cluster of grapes, but each individual grape is held on a pedicel. Flowers/fruits without stalks are referred to as sessile.

Inflorescences terminate axillary peduncle of Ceanothus americanus
Clusters of three flowers on very short (.25" long), inflexible peduncle of Hamamelis virginiana
Pedunculate (8–20" long) panicles of Heuchera villosa (hairy alumroot) cultivar 'Autumn Bride.'
Erect peduncle (.4–2.75" long) with solitary flower of Hibiscus moscheutos (swamp rose-mallow) bends as bud opens and elongates with fruit. A peduncle with an unfertilized flower abscises just above its upper leaf axil.
Terminal spikes with usually glaucous peduncles (.8–2.4" long) of Lonicera sempervirens
Withering peduncle of a rose.
Left to right: Ceanothus americanus, Hamamelis virginiana, Heuchera villosa ‘Autumn Bride,’ Hibiscus moscheutos, Lonicera sempervirens, unidentified rose.

Plants in the Asteraceae (aster family, pictured in the first gallery row below) may appear to have solitary flowers, but each is a complex inflorescence called a capitulum. It is usually a compact head of many tiny florets all sharing the same receptacle and held on a broad, flat peduncle. Its individual florets are sessile or nearly so.

Peduncles (.04–.2" long) of Ageratina altissima (white snakeroot)
Pubescent peduncle (up to 8" long) subtended by a leaf of mid-west native Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower).
Villous peduncle (.2–3' long) subtended by a bract of Erigeron pulchellus
Florets on peduncle with subtending bract of Solidago rugosa "Fireworks' (rough-stemmed goldenrod.
Left to right: Ageratina altissima, Echinacea purpurea, Erigeron pulchellus ‘Lynnhaven Carpet,’ Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks.’

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References

Illinois Wildflowers, © 2002-2020 by John Hilty. (http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/index.htm accessed October 23, 2012).

Plants by Name. Minnesota Wildflowers. (accessed October 23, 2012).

Radford AE, Ahles HE, Bell CR. 1983. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. The University of North Carolina Press.

Reaume, T. 2009. 620 Wild Plants of North America: Fully Illustrated. United States: Canadian Plains Research Centre, University of Regina.

Smith EB. 1977. “Notes on Saxifragaceae. “Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 31 , Article 33. Available at:http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol31/iss1/33.

Swamp rose-mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos). COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 6. Government of Canada. Date modified: 2014-03-05. (accessed November 27, 2021.

Weakley AS, Ludwig JC, Townsend JF. 2012. Flora of Virginia. Botanical Research Institute of Texas.

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