Question

Plant part used as vegetable in Brassica oleracea var. botrytis is-
a. Terminal bud
b. Axillary bud
c. Unripe inflorescence
d. Fruit

Answer 1

Hint: The plant part used as vegetable in Brassica oleracea var. botrytis or cauliflower is associated with branches of the plant. These parts are generally obtained from the branches or stems of a plant and they also show various patterns.

Complete answer:
> Option (c) Unripe inflorescence is correct. Brassica oleracea var. botrytis is a plant species which includes many common vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower etc. An inflorescence is a cluster of flowers which are arranged on a stem composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. The plant part used as the vegetable in Brassica oleracea var. botrytis is unripe inflorescence.

> The option (a) Terminal bud is the incorrect answer. The terminal bud is the primary growing point at the top of a stem in a plant.

> The option (b) Axillary bud is also an incorrect option as the axillary bud is an embryonic shoot which is located in the axial or top of a leaf.

> Option (d) Fruit is a fleshy or dry ripened ovary of a flowering plant. The fruit also contains the seed. So, this is an incorrect option.

Hence, The correct answer is option (C).

Additional information:
There are five major types of Inflorescence found in plants. That is: solitary flowers, racemose inflorescence, cymose inflorescence, mixed inflorescence and special inflorescence.

> Solitary Flowers: Flowers that occur singly or are separated from other flowers of the same plant are called solitary flowers.

> Racemose Inflorescence: Racemose inflorescence is type of indeterminate inflorescence which shows indefinite growth. Here the arrangement of flowers is – acropetal, where the older remains towards base and younger towards apex or centripetal, where the older remains towards the periphery and younger towards centre. It is of the following types- raceme, corymbs, umbel, spike, spikelet, catkin, spadix and capitulum or racemose head.
> Cymose Inflorescence: Cymose inflorescence is the inflorescence where the tip of the main axis terminates in a flower and further growth continues by one or more lateral branches behaving like the main axis. It is of the following types: uniparous or monochasial cyme, biparous or dichasial cyme, multiparous or polychasial cyme and cymose head.

> Mixed Inflorescence: Here two or more types of inflorescence mixes to form an inflorescence.

> Special Inflorescence: They are of two types-
a. Hypanthodium – Presence of a flask-shaped fleshy receptacle possessing a narrow canal and a terminal pore at one end. This type of inflorescence is formed by the condensation of three types of flower- bearing axes.
b. Verticillaster – Presence of two clusters, each having 3-9 flowers. They develop on a node in the axils of opposite leaves. The axis of the cyme present here is shortened as all the flowers arise from a single point.
c. Cyathium – This inflorescence appears like a flower. It has a small conical receptacle which is surrounded by five green or coloured bracts having nectariferous glands or nectar producing glands.

Note: In cauliflower, the main axis is shortened and the lower flowers have a much longer pedicel than that of those upper ones. So, the flowers appear to be at a similar level. It forms a compound corymb type of inflorescence under racemose inflorescence.