Flocculent spiral galaxy

A flocculent spiral galaxy is a type of spiral galaxy. Unlike the well-defined spiral architecture of a grand design spiral galaxy, flocculent (meaning 'fluffy') galaxies are patchy, with discontinuous spiral arms. Self-propagating star formation is the apparent explanation for the structure of flocculent spirals. Approximately 30% of spirals are flocculent, 10% are grand design, and the rest are referred to as 'multi-armed'. The multiple-arm type is sometimes grouped into the flocculent category. The prototypical flocculent spiral is NGC 2841.