A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P R S T U V W
acaulescent.
Without a stem, though there may be an under ground stem (rhizome, tuber,
etc.).
accrescent.
Growing larger with time, especially after flowering.
achene.
A dry, one-seeded, indehiscent fruit.
acuminate.
Gradually tapering to a sharp point.
acute.
Sharp-pointed.
adherent.
When two unlike parts stick together.
adnate.
The fusion of unlike parts, such as during development the filaments of
the stamens fuse with the corolla.
alterate.
When only one leaf comes from a node; when a peral comes between two
sepals, regularly.
alveolus,
alveoli. Special cushions or open
sacks bearing hairs, spines, flowers, as in the Cactaceae.
ament.
Catkin.
amplexicaul.
Clasping the stem.
angiosperm.
One of the groups of plants having closed ovaries, seeds develop within.
annual.
Aplant which grows from seed to producing seeds in one season (year).
annulus.
A ring or partial ring of cells as on the spore-case of most ferns.
anterior.
On the front side, as away from the axis, i.e., posterior of a flower
would be next to the axis (stem).
anther.
The part of the stamen producing the pollen.
antrorse.
directed upward and outward.
appendage.
An attached, hanging or projecting part, as the basal appendage of a
stamen in a species of Ericaceae.
appressed.
Pressed closely or flatly to the stem, etc.
arcuate.
Curved or bowed.
aristate.
Having a bristle or seta at the tip.
armed.
With barbs, spines or prickles.
aromatic.
Being fragrant due to volatile oils , as mint or lemon.
attenuate.
Having a long, gradual taper.
auriculate.
Having an ear-shaped appendage or
part as at the base of some leaves.
awl.
Narrow and pointed.
awn.
A bristle like part.
axil.
The angle that a leaf petiole or flower peduncle makes with the stem.
banner.
The uppermost petal of a papilionaceous flower, like the pea.
barbed.
Bristles or awns which have tips that are bent back sharply.
barbellate.
Provided with small hooks.
beak.
A long, heavy point, as on a fruit.
berry.
A pulpy or fleshy fruit, technically developed from a single pistil with
one or more seeds (not stones).
biennial.
A plant which takes 2 seasons from seed to maturity and death.
bipinnate.
Twice pinnate, as the fern pinna would be divided.
blade.
The expanded part of a leaf or flower.
boreal.
Northern; reffering to plants growing in climates similar to those of the
geographic north such as found on our mountains.
bract.
A small leaf, a scalelike structure associated with flowers, or found
along stems.
caducous.
Falling early, as leaves or petals.
caespitose.
Tufted.
callosity.
Presence of a callus; a thickened, raised area, usually pale.
callus.
A hard protuberance.
calyx.
The outer components of a flower either separate sepals or sepals joined
to some degree.
campanulate.
Bell shaped.
canescent.
Hoary, or gray-pubescent.
capsule.
A dry fruit formed form a compound overy usually dehiscent.
carpel.
One of the units of a compound ovary bearing one or more seeds;
the female - or mega-sporophyll.
caruncle.
A swelling at or near the hilum of a seed.
catkin.
A dense, usually flexuous, spike or spikelet of small apetalous flowers;
ament; found on willow, birches, oaks.
caulescent.
With a stem.
cauline.
Belonging to an obvious stem as opposed to basal or rosulate.
cernuous.
Nodding.
cespitose.
Forming mats; in tufts.
chaff.
A small, thin, dry scale or bract as the bracts in the heads of the
Compositae.
ciliate.
Fringed with hairs.
circinate.
Coiled from top downward, apex nearest the center, as in unopened fern
fronds.
circumscissile.
Dehiscing by a line around the fruit or anther, the top coming off as a
lid.
clavate.
Club-shaped.
claw.
The long petiolelike base of a petal or sepal; as in Lychnis o f the
Caryophyllaceae.
cleistogamous.
Small, closed, self-fertilized flowers as in some Violaceae.
coetaneous.
Having the flowers and leaves opening out at the same time.
coherent.
When two or more like parts touch one another but are not fused.
coma.
A tuft of long, soft hairs as on a seed, i.e., fireweed of the Onagraceae.
commissure.
The surface where two like structures cohere, as in the fruit of the
Umbelliferae.
confluent.
Same as coherent.
connate.
Similar structures fused to form one body, as corolla of Convulvulus.
connective.
The filament or tissue connecting the two cells of an anther.
connivent.
Comming together but not fused during development, as stmens of some
flowers come close together but are not joined.
coriaceous.
Leathery.
corm.
An underground, thickened stem, sometimes with scale-like leaves, as a
crocus.
corniculate.
Having small, horn-like projections.
corrolla.
The petals wheter distinct or joined, inside the calyx.
corymb.
A more or less flat-topped arrangement of flowers in which the pedicels
of unequal length are attached along a stem.
costa.
A rib or vein.
crenate.
With rounded teeth, scalloped, as a leaf.
cucculate.
Hooded.
cuspidate.
Tipped with a sharp, stiff point.
cyme.
An inflorescence where the central flower is the oldest.
deciduous.
falling at the end of one season of growth.
decompound.
Repeatedly compound.
decumbent.
Reclining or lying on the ground, the end ascending.
decurrent.
Extending down and adnate to the stem,
the Bull Thistle, circium vulgare.
decussate.
Opposite leaves in 4 rows vertically on the stem alternating in pairs at
right angles.
dehiscence.
Method of opening a capusule, (or anther) along a definite line.
Kinds of splitting: (1) septicidally, along the attachment of a partition
to the ovary wall, as a Rhododendron; (2)
loculicidally, along the ovarian wall which opens into the cavity, as in an
Iris; (3) Circumscisseley, around
the circumference so a lid pops off, as in a Plantain; (4) poricidally, small pores or holes, as in a poppy (Papaver);
follicle opens along one suture, as in milkweed (Asclepias); legume,
opens along 2 sutures, as in beans and peas.
deltoid.
Triangular.
dentate.
With sharp, spreading coarse teeth that are perpendicular.
denticulate.
Finely dentate.
diadelphous.
In two sets as applied to stamens, as in many legumes, stamens are in one
group and the single stamen stands by itself.
dichotomous.
Forked, in one or more pairs.
didynamous.
With four stamens in 2 pairs, or 2 different lengths.
digitate.
Handlike.
dioecious.
Stamens on one plant, pistils on a different plant.
disciform.
In the Compositae, the ligule of the female flower fails to develop, so
the flower is tubular but has uneven teeth and is slender.
discoid.
Disk-like; in the Compositae a head without ray flowers.
disk
flower. In Compositae, the corolla
is tubular or trumpet-shaped, with five terminal lobes. A head of only disk flowers is discoid. It may be perfect or staminate.
distal.
Terminal as opposed to proximal.
dorsiventral.
Flattened, so there is a definite and ventral surface.
drupe.
A fleshy fruit wht a hard and stony center in which there is usually just
one seed.
elaters.
Thread-like appendages on spores which curl and uncurl with changes in
humidity.
emarginate.
Small notch at the top.
embryo.
The small plant in the seed.
emergent.
Raised above the surface of the water rather than floating on it.
emersed.
See emergent.
endosperm.
The starch and oil containing tissue in the seed.
epicotyl.
The growing point and young bud in the embryo of a seed.
epigean.
A germinating seed in which the cotyledons are pushed above ground level
as opposed to hypogean.
epigynous.
Seeming to grow on top of the ovary, that is, the perianth and stamens.
epipetalous.
Attached to the petals and hence corolla.
erose.
With an irregular margin as if gnawed.
excurent.
Extending beyond the margin or tip, as a midrib developing into an awn.
explanate.
Spread or flattened out.
falcate.
Sickle-shaped; scythe-shaped.
farinose.
Covered with a mealy powder.
fascicle.
A condensed cluster as of some pine needles.
fastigiate.
Crowded close together and usually erect.
filament.
Thread; particularly the stalk terminated by the anther.
fimbriae.
Fringes.
fimbriate.
Fringed.
fistulose.
Hollow.
flaccid.
Weak.
follicle.
A simple pod opening by one suture.
fornix
(ices). A small scale or appendage
in the throat of some kinds of flowers, i.e., borage.
fovea.
A small pit.
frond.
Leaves of ferns.
fruit.
A matured ovary with its contents and any other parts connected to it.
funiculus.
The stalk by which the ovule or seed is attached to the placenta of the
ovary.
funnelform.
Expanding gradually upwards into an open mouth, like a funnel.
fuscous.
Grayish-brown.
fusiform.
Spindle-shaped.
galea.
A helmut-shaped structure, found in the Scrophulariaceae.
gametophyte.
The generation of plants that produces the ova and sperms,
usually has n chromosomes.
gamopetalous.
United petals.
gamosepalous.
United sepals.
geniculate.
Bent abruptly as a knee.
gibbous.
More swollen on one side than on another.
glabrous.
Smooth in the sense of having no hairs of any kind.
glabrate.
Becoming glabrous with age or almost so.
glomerate.
In a small compact cluster.
glomerule.
Small heads.
gymnosperm.
One of a group of plants having ovules that are not closed in an ovary.
gynobase.
An enlargement of a prolongation of or a depression in the tip of the
receptacle.
hastate.
Spreading lobes on each side of the base of a leaf.
head.
A group of flowers crowded closely together on the tip of a peduncle.
herbaceous.
Not woody, of the texture of an herb; upper parts of plant that die down
to the ground at the end of the growing season, may be an annual, a biennial, or
a perennial.
hermaphrodite.
Having both stamens and pistils in the same flower.
hilum.
A scar on a seed where it was attached to the funiculus.
hirsute.
Having stiff, beard-like hairs but not sharp-pointed.
hispid.
Bristly, having stiff hairs, sometimes sharp-pointed.
hygroscopic.
Responds to water content.
hypanthium.
An enlargement or special development of the receptacle and calyx tube;
when the petals and stamens appear to come from the calyx tube, the hypanthium
is that part of the calyx tube below the attachment of the petals.
hypocotyl.
The part of the stem below the cotyledons.
hypogean.
Produced underground.
hypogynous.
With perianth and stamens attached to the receptacle, literally under the
pistil.
imbricate.
Overlapping one another as the shingles on a roof.
immersed.
Growing completely under water.
incised.
Cut rather deeply and sharply, often irregularly.
indehiscent.
Not splitting open, remained closed at maturity.
indurate.
Hard.
indusium.
An epidermal outgrowth or reflexed leaf margin over the sori in many
ferns.
inflorescence.
A flower cluster; arrangement of flowers along a stem, as, catkin,
corymb, cyme, head, panicle, raceme, spike, spadix, thyrse, umbel.
introrsely.
Turned toward the inside or facing inward.
involucels.
A small involucre.
involucre.
A set of bracts around a structure as beneath an inflorescence in the
composites and anemones.
irregular
flower. The members of some or all
of the floral circles unequal or dissimilar as an orchid or snapdragon.
keeled.
With a keel or sharp longitudinal ridge.
lacerate.
Margin appears to be torn.
lamellae.
consisting of flat paltes or layers.
lanceolate.
Lance-shaped.
leaf
shapes. As hastate, spatulate,
linear, lanceolate, ovate, obovate.
leaflet.
One of the divisions of a compound leaf.
legume.
A simple pod the dehisces (splits) in two pieces along 2 sutures.
lenticel.
Slightly raised area on the bark of a stem or root, may be a dot or a
slit.
ligulate.
Having a ligule.
ligulate
heads. In Compositae, found mostly
in the Cichorieae or those plants with a milky juice.
ligule.
A flattened part (strap-like) of the corolla of some flowers of the
Compositae as in the dandelion.
limb.
The expanded part of a sympetalous corolla; expanded part of a petal.
locule.
The seed cavity of an ovary or fruit.
loment.
A pod which separates transversely into joints, in a legume, one-seeded.
lyrate.
Lyre-shaped, in a pinnatifid leaf of obovate shape, the end-lobe is large
and rounded while the lower lobes are small.
megaspores.
The large spores found in the Selaginellaceae and seed plants with stored
food which produces the female gametophyte.
mesophytes.
Plants having a medium requirement of water, as opposed to hydrophytes or
xerophytes.
microspore.
a small spore as in Selaginaceae and seed plants which produce the male
gametophyte, pollen grain.
monadelphous
stamens. Filaments or anthers
joined to form a tube.
monoecious.
With unisexual flowers, either male or female, borne on the same plant,
as in willows.
muricate.
Having small, sharp projections.
node.
The joints of a stem or the place on a stem where the leaves originate.
nut.
A hard, mostly one-seeded indehiscent fruit, as an acorn or a chestnut.
nyctitropic.
Changing position at night, as of leaves.
obcordate.
Cordate with notch at the opex or tip.
obtuse.
Blunt or round at the end, with
sides coming together at an angel greater the 90 .
ochrea,
ocrea. A sheath around the stem
just above the base of the leaf, formed from the stipules.
operculum.
A little lid formed as a cap on a circumscissile fruit.
opposite.
As of leaves when they are on opposite sides of the stem (i.e., in pairs)
on the same node.
oval.
Broadly elliptical.
ovary.
That part of the pistil containing the ovules or future seeds.
ovate.
Egg-shaped, broader end down.
ovule.
The body destined to become
a seed.
palate.
The raised part of the lower lip of a corolla projecting into the throat.
palea.
Chaff. One of the 2 bracts
enclosing the flower in grasses.
palmate.
When the leaflets of a compund leaf or divisions of a leaf all arise from
the apex of the petiole, like the hand with outspread fingers.
pandurate.
Fiddle-shaped.
panicle.
A branched cluster, indeterminate growth.
paniculate.
Arranged in panicle.
papilionaceous.
A folwer with a standard, 2 wing petals and 2 petals partly joined to
form a keel, i.e., a leguminous plant, peas, beans, alfalfa.
papillate.
Covered with papillae.
pappus.
The modified structures (calyx) crowning the ovary in the Compositae.
pectinate.
Comb-like.
pedicel.
The stalk of a single flower in an inflorescence.
peduncle.
The stalk of an inflorescence or a solitary flower.
peltate.
Shield-shaped, attached by the lower surface instead of by the base or
margin.
pelviform.
Basin-shaped.
perennial.
A plant the lives more than two years.
perfect
flowers. One with both pistils and
stamens in one flower whether there is a perianth or not.
perfoliate.
Seeming to pass through the leaf.
perianth.
The sepals and petals of a flower, collectively.
perigynous.
The perianth and stamens united into a basal cup distinct from the ovary,
as a disk around the base of the ovary.
petal.
A member of the second set of floral leaves, usually colored or white.
petiolate.
Having a petiole, opposed would be sessile without a petiole.
petiole.
A leaf-stalk.
pilose.
Hairy, with long, straight soft hairs.
pinna,
ae. One of the primary divisions of
a compound leaf.
pinnate
- pinnatifid. When leaflets are
arranged along a common petiole but the divisions are not cut nor cleft clear to
the petiole.
pinnatisect.
Pinnately cleft or parted.
pinnule.
An ultimate division of a leaf pinnately compound.
pistil.
The seed bearing organ of a flower.
Usually composed of the ovary, style and stigma.
pixis.
A fruit which dehisces along a horizontal, circular line.
polyperalous.
When petals are distinct.
polysepalous.
When sepals are distinct.
pome.
A fruit with a core, as an apple. A
fleshy fruit with floral parts besides the ovary involved the part of the
receptacle.
precocious.
Early in development; in willows, with flowers blooming before the leaves
unfold.
propagules.
Parts of plants which serve to reproduce the plant naturally, i.e.,
roots.
proximal.
Nearest the point of attachment.
pubescent.
Covered with soft hairs.
punctate.
With dots or pits or depressions.
pustulate.
Blistery.
raceme.
A simple, elongated, indeterminate inforescence with pedicelled or
stalked flowers.
rachis,
rachises. Axis bearing the flowers
or leaflets; petiole of a fern frond.
radiate.
In the Compositae, a flower with both rays and disks.
rank.
A vertical row; leaves that are 2-ranked are in 2 vertical rows , they
may be alternate or opposite.
ray
flower. In Compositae,
a corolla is tubular at the base then flares out flat with a toothed-tip,
2 or 3 teeth. The flattened part is
the ray or ligule, and the flower is the ray flower.
These are found around the margin of the flower.
The center flowers are the disk flowers.
receptacle.
The more of less expanded or elongated end of the stem upon which the
flowers are borne; it is greatly enlarged in the Compositae.
reniform.
Kidney-shaped.
reticulate.
Netted.
retrorse.
Directed backward.
retuse.
With a small terminal notch.
revolute.
Rolled back from the margin.
rhizome.
Underground stem, it has nodes, buds or scales as opposed to a root.
rosette.
Where leaves radiate from a center and are close (flat) to the ground as
in the dandelion.
rosulate.
In the form of the rosette.
rotate.
Wheel-shaped.
rugose.
Wrinkled.
runcinate.
Coarsely serrate or deeply incised, the teeth pointing toward the base of
the leaf (backward).
saccate.
Pouchy or bag-shaped.
sagittate.
Arrow-shaped with basal lobes pointing downward toward the stalk.
salverform.
In some flowers there is a tube basally which flares out at the apex and
the lobes flatten at right angles, i.e., pinks.
samara.
Indehiscent winged fruit as in the maple.
scape.
Leafless pedundle from the ground up, there may be bracts or scales.
scapose.
Bearing flowers on a scape.
scarious.
Thin, dry, chaffy, not green.
schizocarp.
A dry, indehiscent fruit that splits into two parts, each a mericarp, as
in most umbellifers.
scorpioid
cyme. The inflorescence is coiled,
the flowers 2-ranked and alternate. May
appear to be a raceme.
secund.
One-side.
sepal.
One of the separate parts of the calyx, usually green and leaf-like.
septum
(septa). A partition or cross wall.
serotinous.
Late; when flowers come after the leaves are full expanded as
distinguished from precocious, in some willows the flowers appear before the
leaves and some other willows are coetaneous where the flowers and leaves appear
together.
serrate.
Where the leaf margin is saw-toothed with teeth pointing forward.
sessile.
Not stalked.
seta.
A bristle.
setose.
Covered with bristles.
setulose.
Having tiny bristles.
sheaths.
Any more of less tubular structure surrounding a part.
silicle.
A short fruit found in some mustards, not more than twice as long as
wide.
silique.
An elongate fruit found in some
mustards.
sinuate.
Outline strongly wavy.
sinus.
A space or bay between two lobes as of a leaf or petal.
sorus,
sori. Acluster or heap.
The structure composed of a cluster of fruiting bodies, in ferns usually
found on the underside of the fronds.
spadix.
A fleshy spike of flowers.
spathe.
The bract or leaf surrounding the spadix.