compound flower

noun

1. the flower head of a composite plant.

compound flower

noun

1. a flower head made up of many small flowers appearing as a single bloom, as in the daisy

Word History and Origins

Origin of compound flower¹

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

Its compound flower is composed of a hollow, tall spadix with small flowers and a spathe, with one big, furrowed petal that is green on the outside and deep burgundy red on the inside.

From Seattle Times

And it takes only a single winged seed from the compound flower, produced by one of the hundred or more segments of the mature dandelion flower, to produce the next dandelion.

From New York Times

The inflorescence of a compound flower in which many florets are gathered into a involucrate head.

From Project Gutenberg

The nest, which is remarkably small, is described as being placed in the fork of an alder-tree, loosely constructed of dry grass and weeds, and lined either with the cotton of the willow or the pappus of some compound flower, stated by some to be dandelion, by others, thistle, but perhaps, in reality, coltsfoot.

From Project Gutenberg

This name was first given to the down like that of the Thistle, but is applied to all forms under which the limb of the calyx of the "compound flower" appears.

From Project Gutenberg