cauliflory

The production of flowers on tissue that has been secondarily thickened, such as the branches or trunks, rather than at apical meristems. Flowers arising in this way normally develop from suppressed side shoots, but more infrequently they may be formed from the phellem. This trait is found most frequently in species that make up the lower canopy of tropical forests, e.g. cocoa (Theobroma cacao). It is believed in some cases to be associated with pollination or fruit dispersal by bats.