Tortoise's challenge to the hare

I believe the answer is:

raceme

(Other definitions for raceme that I've seen before include "Care about me with flowers spaced along a central stem" , "Long cluster of flowers along the main stem" , "Cluster of flowers along a central stem" , "Flowers evenly spaced along central stem" , "something flowery" .)

I've seen this clue in The New York Times.

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