What does corymb mean?
A corymb is a botanical term for a distinctive kind of flower cluster: one that is flat-topped or gently domed because its outer flower stalks grow longer than the inner ones, lifting every blossom to roughly the same height. Botanists classify it as a form of cyme — a cluster in which the central or outermost flowers open first — and the corymb's showy, level surface makes it highly attractive to pollinating insects, which can walk across it as if across a landing pad. Familiar examples include the creamy spring blossoms of hawthorn, the flat white heads of yarrow, and the broad flower clusters of elderberry. The word derives from the Greek 'korymbos', meaning a cluster of fruit or flowers, and entered English in the sixteenth century via Latin. Although essentially technical, 'corymb' is prized by gardeners, field naturalists, and wildflower enthusiasts as a precise way to describe one of nature's most orderly floral arrangements.
nounA flat-topped or dome-shaped flower cluster in which the outer florets open first, and in which the lower stalks (pedicels) are longer than the inner ones so that all the flowers reach roughly the same level. It is a type of cyme, characteristic of plants such as hawthorn, yarrow, and many members of the cabbage family.
- Botany: a flat-topped or convex flower cluster of the cyme type, in which the outer flowers open first and the peripheral stalks are longer than the central ones, giving all florets roughly equal height.
"The hawthorn was smothered in creamy white corymbs along every branch."
"The elderberry bushes were heavy with broad, white corymbs by midsummer."
"In the key, the species was separated from its relatives by its flattened corymb rather than an upright panicle."
Standard pluralization; the plural is common in botanical descriptions when referring to multiple flower clusters on one plant.
"The shrub bore dozens of small corymbs along its arching stems."
A corymb is nature's way of cheating: stalks of different lengths conspire so that every blossom sits on exactly the same plane.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of corymb
The word comes from the ancient Greek 'korymbos' (κόρυμβος), which meant a cluster of fruit or flowers, especially the clustered crest of ivy berries used in garlands. It passed into Latin as 'corymbus' and from there into English botanical usage, where it was adopted in the sixteenth century as naturalists formalized the vocabulary for describing plant forms. The same Greek root gives rise to the adjectival forms 'corymbose' and 'corymbiferous', both standard in botanical description.
Related word forms
How corymb is actually used
Strictly a technical term of botany and horticulture; it appears almost exclusively in field guides, floras, gardening literature, and botanical keys rather than everyday speech. When used outside specialist writing it is usually to describe ornamental plants such as hawthorn, yarrow, hydrangea relatives, and elderberries.
Easily confused with corymb
A cyme is the broader category of flower cluster whose central or terminal flower opens first, while a corymb is specifically a flattened, round-topped form of cyme.
An umbel has all stalks arising from a single point like umbrella ribs, whereas a corymb's stalks attach at different points along the stem yet still bring the flowers level.