umbel Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun flat-topped or rounded inflorescence characteristic of the family Umbelliferae in which the individual flower stalks arise from about the same point; youngest flowers are at the center

WordNet

Um"bel noun
Etymology
L. umbella a little shadow, umbrella, dim. of umbra shade. See Umbrella.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A kind of flower cluster in which the flower stalks radiate from a common point, as in the carrot and milkweed. It is simple or compound; in the latter case, each peduncle bears another little umbel, called umbellet, or umbellule.

Webster 1913