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In
botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
, a scape is a peduncle arising from a subterranean or very compressed stem, with the lower
internodes A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, stores nutrien ...
very long and hence few or no bracts except the part near the
rachis In biology, a rachis (from the grc, ῥάχις [], "backbone, spine") is a main axis or "shaft". In zoology and microbiology In vertebrates, ''rachis'' can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this c ...
or receptacle. Typically it takes the form of a long, leafless flowering stem rising directly from a
bulb In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs dur ...
,
rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow ...
, or similar subterranean or underwater structure. The scapes of
scallion Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus '' Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, c ...
s,
chives Chives, scientific name ''Allium schoenoprasum'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae that produces edible leaves and flowers. Their close relatives include the common onions, garlic, shallot, leek, scallion, and ...
,
garlic chives ''Allium tuberosum'' (garlic chives, Oriental garlic, Asian chives, Chinese chives, Chinese leek) is a species of plant native to the Chinese province of Shanxi, and cultivated and naturalized elsewhere in Asia and around the world. Description ...
, and
garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeas ...
are used as vegetables.


Etymology and usages

The word ''scape'' (Latin ''scapus'', from Greek σκᾶπος), as used in botany, is fairly vague and arbitrary; various sources provide divergent definitions. Some older usages simply amount to a stem or stalk in general, but modern formal usage tends to favour the likes of "A long flower stalk rising directly from the root or rhizome", or "a long, naked, or nearly naked, peduncle, rising direct from the base of a plant, whether 1- or many-fid."Chittenden, Fred J. Ed., ''Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening'', Oxford 1951 Other authorities refer to the scape rising directly from the ground, without morphological analysis. For example: "A leafless floral axis or peduncle arising from the ground, as in ''Cyclamen"''.Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent''; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. London, 4th ed 1928


Practical definition

The modern trend is towards usefully distinguishing the definition of "scape" from those of related, but more general, terms such as
Peduncle (botany) In botany, a peduncle is a stalk supporting an inflorescence or a solitary flower, or, after fecundation, an infructescence or a solitary fruit. The peduncle sometimes has bracts (a type of cataphylls) at nodes. The main axis of an infloresce ...
and
inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are forme ...
. It now is rarely used for such objects as stems or inflorescences in general. However, it is not easy to find coherent and fully general definitions. Typical examples from authoritative online sources include the following: "a peduncle arising at or beneath the surface of the ground in an
acaulescent This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...
plant... broadly: a flower stalk...", "a leafless stalk in plants that arises from a rosette of leaves and bears one or more flowers..." and several more very similar. All those definitions are descriptive, but morphologically vacuous. In contrast, a professional botanical publication puts the matter plainly in a key to ''
Eriogonum ''Eriogonum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as wild buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing. It incl ...
'': "Scapes (the first internode)...Kearney, Thomas H.; Peebles, Robert H.; Howell, Hohn Thomas; McClintock, Elizabeth. Arizona Flora. University of California Press 1960. Botanically, any such structure is practically of necessity an internode".


Description

In the purest sense, that of a smooth stem without leaves or branches, a scape is a single internode. It might comprise an entire peduncle with just one flower (e.g. ''
Tulip Tulips (''Tulipa'') are a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs). The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly coloured, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm ...
a'') or just the basal internode of a peduncle. This is in contrast to the typical compound peduncle, which morphologically speaking is derived from a branch, or from an entire shoot. A single scape may bear a single
flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...
or many, depending on the species. When it bears more than one flower, there is the terminal part of an inflorescence on top, as in ''Amaryllis''. Compare this with say, the peduncle of
Agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for ...
, which
sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...
, is not a scape. Scapes are found on plants of many families, including
Amaryllidaceae The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous (rarely rhizomatous) flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus '' Amaryllis'' and is commonly known as the amaryllis f ...
,
Asphodelaceae Asphodelaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists, but the circumscription has varied widely. In its current circumscription in the APG IV system, it includes about 4 ...
, Balsaminaceae,
Liliaceae The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fair ...
,
Papaveraceae The Papaveraceae are an economically important family of about 42 genera and approximately 775 known species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales, informally known as the poppy family. The family is cosmopolitan, occurring in temperat ...
,
Droseraceae Droseraceae is a family of carnivorous flowering plants, also known as the sundew family. It consists of approximately 180 species in three extant genera. Representatives of the Droseraceae are found on all continents except Antarctica. Desc ...
, and
Violaceae Violaceae is a family of flowering plants established in 1802, consisting of about 1000 species in about 25 genera. It takes its name from the genus ''Viola'', the violets and pansies. Older classifications such as the Cronquist system placed ...
.


References

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