Glossary
GLOSSARY
abaxial: facing away from the axis; hence abaxially; used of leaf surface.
aborted: imperfectly developed.
acaulescent: stemless, or apparently stemless.
achene: a small, dry, indehiscent, one-seeded fruit with thin pericarp. Fig. 4D: Alisma lanceolatum.
acicular: having a needle-shaped tip.
actinomorphic: with the parts radially symmetrical, regular; as of flowers. Fig. 4B: Alisma lanceolatum – perianth.
acuminate: tapering to a fine point.
acute: sharply pointed.
adaxial: facing towards the axis; hence adaxially; used of leaf surface.
adnate: united to an organ of a different kind; as sepals to petals. Fig. 21A1: Iris – anther adnate to petaloid style-branch.
adventive: arriving from outside; in contrast to native.
alternate: placed singly along an axis, not in opposite pairs; hence alternately. Fig. 11A: Alstroemeria pulchella – leaves.
anatomy: the study of internal structure.
androgynous: with male and female flowers in the same inflorescence; male above female (in Carex). Fig. 29C: Carex pyrenaica – spike.
annual: completing its life-cycle within one year.
anther: the pollen-bearing part of a stamen.
apiculate: ending in a short, slender, ± flexible point. Fig. 11B: Alstroemeria pulchella – cap of capsule; Fig. 14B: Zantedeschia aethiopica – leaf tip.
apiculus: a short, ± flexible point.
appendage: a secondary or subsidiary part of an organ; a special outgrowth (Araceae). Fig. 13A: Arum italicum – spadix with terminal appendage.
appressed: closely and flatly pressed against a surface.
approximate: close together. Fig. 29B: Carex ovalis – spikes.
aquatic: living in water.
arborescent: tree-like.
aril: a fleshy or hardened outgrowth from the funicle, which covers or is attached to the mature seed; hence arillate.
articulate: jointed; with nodes of joints where parts may separate; hence articulated.
ascending: directed or rising upward obliquely.
asymmetrical: of stamens directed to one side of the style. Fig. 20A: Sparaxis.
auricle: an ear-shaped appendage or lobe, especially at junction of lamina and sheath in some spp. of Juncus.
awn: a stiff or bristle-like projection, often from the tip or back of an organ, i.e. in glumes of Carex.
axil: the upper angle between two dissimilar organs; hence axillary, occurring in the axil of a leaf or bract. Fig. 31A: Scirpus setaceus – spikelets in axils of bracts.
axile: of the axis; especially of placentae attached to the axis of a several-loculed ovary.
axis: the main stem or central longitudinal support as of an inflorescence; pl. axes.
basal: as of leaves or sheaths, all arising from ground-level, or of ovule (s) at base of ovary.
basifixed: attached by the base; usually of anthers. Fig. 26: Cyperaceae – anthers.
beak: a prominent extension of an organ; as of fruits. Fig. 28: Carex – utricles.
berry: a fleshy fruit containing several to many seeds but not a "stone" (cf. drupe).
bi-: a prefix meaning two.
bidentate: having two teeth. Fig. 20G¹: Ixia – spathe-valve.
biennial: a plant which requires 2 years to complete its life-cycle.
bifacial: of leaves, with distinct upper and lower surfaces.
bifid: divided into two parts; two-cleft. Fig. 20D: Watsonia – style-branches; Fig, 26B: Scirpus – style; Fig. 28C: Carex fascicularis – utricle-beak.
bisexual: of flowers, with both sexes functional.
blade: the lamina, or expanded part of a leaf.
bog: wet, spongy ground.
bole: the main trunk of a tree.
brackish: partly fresh, partly salt (of water).
bract: a modified, often much-reduced leaf, especially the small or scale-like leaves of an inflorescence; diminutive bracteole, bractlet; hence bracteate. Fig. 31A: Scirpus setaceus – spikelet with short leaf-like bract at base.
bristle: a stiff stout hair.
bulb: a thickened part made up of ± fleshy scales on a short axis; diminutive bulbil; hence bulbous. Fig. 9A: Liliaceae, Amaryllidaceae.
caducous: falling off at an early stage; used of sepals and petals.
caespitose: growing in ± dense tufts.
callus: a thickened, usually hardened part; pl. calli.
calyx: the outer, usually greenish, whorl of floral parts, consisting of free or united sepals.
campanulate: bell-shaped.
canaliculate: longitudinally channelled or grooved.
cap: a convex removable covering of a part; as of a capsule. Fig. 11B: Alstroemeria pulchella.
capillary: hair-like.
capitate: head-like; used of inflorescence or stigma.
capitulum: a dense head-like inflorescence of numerous sessile flowers; pl. capitula.
capsule: a dry dehiscent fruit formed by the union of two or more carpels. Fig.11B: Alstroemeria pulchella.
carpel: one unit of the female part of the flower, consisting of ovule-bearing ovary, receptive stigma, and often a stalk-like style between them.
cartilaginous: tough and hard.
caruncle: excrescence of appendage near base of seed. Fig. 19: Luzula.
caryopsis: a grain, as of grasses; a seed-like fruit with a thin pericarp adnate to the contained seed.
casual: appearing from time to time.
caulescent: with a stem; in Aloe with thick trunk-like stem beneath a rosette.
cauline: belonging to the stem, especially its upper aerial part. Fig. 16C: Juncus sect. Septati or Poiophylli – leaves on stem.
channelled: hollowed out longitudinally like a gutter. Fig. 27B–C: Carex; in families other than Cyperaceae the term is used where the hollow may be broader or more rounded.
chartaceous: of thin papery texture.
chlorophyll: the green colouring matter within the cells of plants.
ciliate: with a fringe of marginal hairs.
circumscissile: dehiscing as if cut circularly around, the top valve coming off like a lid.
cladode: a green flattened stem resembling a foliage leaf, but arising in the axil of a minute, bract-like, often caducous, true leaf; as Asparagus.
clavate: club-shaped; thickened towards the apex.
claw: the narrowed stalk-like base of a petal or sepal; hence clawed.
cleft: deeply cut.
collateral: standing side by side.
column: body formed by the union of stamens, style and stigmas; as in Elodea.
compound: composed of several ± similar parts, as opposed to simple; used of leaves and inflorescences.
compressed: flattened.
congested: crowded.
connate: joined together, especially of two similar parts united; as perianth-segments.
conspecific: belonging to one and the same species.
contiguous: touching but not fused.
continuous: without breaks, uninterrupted; as pith in Juncus, and inflorescences in Cyperaceae.
cordate: heart-shaped, with the notch at the base. Fig. 1: Hydrocleys nymphoides – leaf.
coriaceous: of somewhat leathery texture, tough.
corm: a short. swollen underground stem, usually erect and invested by a few scales and functioning for only one season; diminutive cormil; hence cormous. Fig. 9B: Iridaceae.
corolla: the inner, usually showy, whorl of floral parts, consisting of free or united petals.
corona: a crown-like appendage projecting upwards from the corolla, e.g. the cup in Narcissus.
corymb: a ± flat-topped raceme, the long-pedicelled outer flowers opening first; hence corymbose.
cotyledon: seed-leaf, present in the seed.
crenate: with shallow, rounded teeth, the sinus acute.
crest: an elevation or ridge at the summit of an organ. Fig. 21(e): Iris – terminal lobes of style-branches.
crimped: of a margin crumpled or thrown into close waves. Fig. 6A: Potamogeton crispus – leaf.
crown: the upper rosette of leaves of an arborescent sp.; as in Palmae.
cultivar: a variety, strain, selection or race that has originated and persisted under cultivation; subject to rules laid down in International Code of Nomenclature of Cultivated Plants, e.g. Muscari armeniacum cv. 'Heavenly Blue' .
cuneate: wedge-shaped; gradually and evenly narrowed to base. Fig. 20E: Homeria – style-branches.
cuspidate: with the apex abruptly narrowed to a sharp rigid point. Fig. 14A: Alocasia macrorrhiza – leaf.
cyme: an inflorescence in which continued growth depends on the production of new lateral growing points; when these develop symmetrically the inflorescence tends to be broad and flattish with the oldest flowers innermost; hence cymose.
deciduous: falling after completion of the normal function, i.e. petals after flowering, or leaves of summer-green perennial.
declinate: bent or curved downwards.
decumbent: lying along the ground with the tip ascending.
decurved: gradually curved downwards.
deflexed: bent sharply downwards.
dehiscing: opening regularly, to shed contents when ripe; used of anthers and capsules.
deltoid: more or less triangular in shape.
dentate: with sharp teeth perpendicular to the margins, the sinus ± open; diminutive denticulate.
depauperate: reduced in size, as if starved.
dichotomously: forking into 2 equal branches.
diffuse: of open or straggling growth.
digitate: spreading from a centre like the fingers of a hand. Fig. 30: Cyperus – spikelets.
dilated: enlarged, or expanded, or widened.
dimorphic: occurring in two forms; as leaves of some aquatics. Fig. 3: Ottelia ovalifolia – leaves.
dioecious: having ♂ and ♀ on different plants.
discoid: disc-shaped; used of corona in Narcissus.
disjunct: used of plant distribution with large gaps between occurrences.
dispersal: the various ways by which fruits, seeds, whole plants, or portions of plants are scattered, by wind, water, birds, adhesion to animals etc.
dissected: of leaf-laminae, cut into many segments. Fig. 13B: Dracunculus.
distant: standing apart, separated; as spikes in Carex.
distichous: arranged in two opposite rows so as to lie in one plane, used of leaves, and of glumes in Cyperaceae. Fig. 30A: Cyperus tenellus – glumes of spikelets.
divergent: spreading away from one another, usually at a rather wide angle. Fig. 5A: Aponogeton distachyus – divergent spikes.
dorsal: relating to the back or outer surface of a part or organ.
dorsifixed: attached by the back, especially of anthers.
double-folded: used of a leaf of which the T.S. resembles an inverted W because of a prominent nerve on each side of the midrib. Fig. 27D: Carex.
drupe: a "stone fruit", the seed enclosed in a bony covering (endocarp) which is surrounded by a ± fleshy layer (mesocarp).
e- or ex-: prefix meaning lacking.
ebracteate: without bracts.
effuse: spreading loosely.
ellipsoid: of a solid object, elliptic in section or outline.
elliptic: in the shape of an ellipse, rounded at both ends, widest at the middle.
elongate: lengthened, stretched out; hence elongating.
emarginate: with a shallow notch at the apex.
embryology: study of the embryo, or rudimentary plant within the seed.
emergent: stems and/or leaves of aquatic plants emerging above the water surface.
emersed: rising above surface of water.
endemic: native only to a particular country or region; here meaning occurring naturally only in the N.Z. Botanical Region or some part of it.
endocarp: the inner layer of the fruit-wall, sometimes stony, lying next to the seed.
ensiform: sword-shaped, ± rhomboid in T.S.
entire: of a continuous margin not toothed or otherwise cut (hairs may be present); whole or unbranched.
ephemeral: persisting for a very short time; of a plant, for a very short season; of an organ, usually a day or less.
epiphytic: of a plant growing upon another but not organically connected with it.
equilateral: having all sides equal.
equitant: folded over as if astride; or opposite leaves folded longitudinally and overlapping in their lower parts; as in Iridaceae.
erose: with an irregular margin as if gnawed.
escape: a plant which has spread from cultivation.
-escent: a suffix signifying "inclined to be" or "becoming".
excurrent: running out beyond the margin or apex; as the midrib of glumes.
exocarp: the outermost layer of the fruit-wall.
exserted: projecting, as the stamens beyond the corolla; not included. Fig 29B–C: Carex – stamens exserted beyond glumes.
extravaginal: beyond or outside the sheath; applied to tillers in Carex which burst out through the basal sheaths.
extrorse: directed outwards; used of anther dehiscence.
falcate: strongly curved; sickle-shaped.
falls: outer whorl of perianth-segments of an iridaceous flower, often broader than the inner segments, and drooping in some Iris spp. Fig. 21(b): Iris.
fan: used of a leafy shoot with distichous, equitant leaves.
fascicle: a close cluster or bundle.
fellfield: very open, usually alpine vegetation made up, for the most part, of very low-growing plants; or rather rocky places in mountains where such vegetation grows.
fertile: producing seed, spores or pollen capable of germination.
-fid: suffix meaning cleft.
filament: a thread-like structure, especially the stalk of the stamen bearing the anther.
filamentous, filiform: thread-like; very slender, but less so than capillary.
fimbriate: fringed; as tip of glume in some Carex spp.
flaccid: limp, not rigid.
flexuous: having a wavy or zigzag form; as rhachis or branch of an inflorescence.
floriferous: flower-bearing.
fluted: of a perianth-tube with semi-cylindrical vertical grooves.
foliaceous: leaf-like. Fig. 30: Cyperus – bracts.
follicle: a dry dehiscent fruit formed from one carpel and dehiscing along one side.
fruit: the ripened ovary containing the seeds; often used to include associated parts such as fleshy receptacle.
fugacious, fugitive: falling or withering away very early; used of sepals and petals.
funicle: the stalk of an ovule attaching it to ovary wall or placenta.
funnelform: with the tube gradually widened upwards.
fuscous: of a brownish or greyish-brown colour.
fusiform: spindle-shaped; of a solid object, ± swollen in the middle and narrowed to both ends.
glabrous: without hairs.
glandular: bearing glands.
glaucous: of a distinctly bluish-green colour, not necessarily due to a bloom.
globose: nearly spherical; similarly globular.
glume: a small chaffy or membranous bract, especially at the base of a grass spikelet or sedge flower; hence glumaceous. Fig. 26D: Carex – glume with male flower.
gregarious: growing in large colonies.
gynoecium: the female part of the flower made up of one or more carpels.
habit: the general appearance of a plant.
habitat: the kind of place in which a plant grows.
haft: the narrow constricted portion of the perianth segment of Iris.
hastate: shaped like an arrowhead, with the basal lobes pointed or narrow and spreading at a wide angle. Fig. 14C: Arum italicum – leaf.
herb: any vascular plant which is not woody; hence herbaceous.
herbfield: vegetation, usually closed, characterised by the abundance of various herbs.
hermaphrodite: having both stamens and carpels in the same flower.
hispid: bearing stiff, ± bristle-like hairs.
hyaline: thin and translucent.
hybrid: a plant whose parents differ sufficiently to be accorded specific or infraspecific rank. Hybrids or putative hybrids between two spp. of the same genus are designated by a formula and, whenever it seems useful or necessary, by a name; the formula consists of the specific epithets of the two parents in alphabetical order connected by the multiplication sign; the name, which is subject to the same rules as the names of spp., is distinguished by the multiplication sign before the epithet, e.g. Crocosmia aurea × pottsii = Crocosmia × crocosmiiflora (Nicholson) N. E. Brown.
hypogynous: borne below the ovary. Fig. 26: Cyperaceae – bristles and stamens.
imbricate: overlapping like roof-tiles. Fig. 29A: Carex demissa – glumes of male spike.
impressed: furrowed as if by pressure.
included: not protruded; as stamens not projecting from the corolla. Fig.20A: Sparaxis.
incurved: bending from without inwards.
indehiscent: not opening to release it contents, except finally by decay.
indigenous: native to a particular area; not introduced.
induplicately: rolled or folded inwards; used of palm leaves where the pinnae are V-shaped in T.S.
inferior: situated below another organ or part; an inferior ovary is surrounded by and fused with the receptacle and so is below the insertion of the perianth. Fig. 8: Canna indica – ovary.
inflorescence: a general term for a collection of flowering parts, or for the arrangement of the flowers.
inserted: attached to or growing upon; as stamens on perianth.
internode: the part of an axis between two nodes.
interrupted: with broken continuity; as pith of Juncus or portions of an inflorescence.
intravaginal: within the sheath; applied to tillers in Carex which grow up within the basal sheaths.
introduced: of a species that is not native to the country but has been brought in by accident or design.
introrse: facing inwards or towards the axis; often applied to anthers that open towards the centre of a flower.
invested: clothed.
involucre: one or more whorls of bracts, often ± calyx-like, surrounding an aggregation of flowers; as in Cyperaceae; hence involucral, involucrate. Fig. 30: Cyperus – leaf-like involucral bracts.
involute: rolled inwards, or to the upper (adaxial) side.
isotype: a duplicate of the type specimen.
keel: a sharp central ridge, like the keel of a boat; hence keeled. Fig. 27C: Carex – leaf.
labellum: a lip; in Zingiberaceae (Fig.7) and Cannaceae (Fig. 8) the fused petaloid staminodia.
lacerate: irregularly torn or cleft. Fig. 20H: Sparaxis – spathe-valve.
lactiferous: producing or bearing latex (milky sap).
lamina: the expanded portion or blade of a leaf; pl. laminae.
lanceolate: lance-shaped; of a leaf, bract or sepal, several times longer than wide with greatest width about one third from base, tapering gradually to apex and more rapidly to base.
lateral: on or near the side; hence a side structure, e.g. nerve, branch.
lax: loosely arranged or distantly placed.
leaflet: a single division of a compound leaf.
leaf scar: the mark left by the articulation and fall of a leaf; as in Palmae.
lectotype: a specimen or other element selected from the original material to serve as a nomenclatural type when the type was not designated at the time of publication, or for so long as it is missing.
lenticular: of the shape of a ± circular biconvex lens; as nut in Scirpus spp.
liane: a woody climbing plant.
ligule: the thin scarious appendage at the junction of lamina and sheath of a leaf, sometimes reduced to hairs; as in Carex.
limb: the expanded part of a petal or sepal, or spathe (in Araceae).
linear: very narrow, with parallel margins.
littoral: growing on shores.
lobe: a recognisable but not separated division, of petal, leaf etc., especially when rounded; hence lobed; diminutive lobule. Fig. 7A; Hedychium gardnerianum – corolla lobe.
locule: a compartment or cavity of an organ, e.g. of ovary, fruit, or anther; hence locular.
loculicidal: opening into a locule; of dehiscence, by the splitting of the outer wall of each locule.
lorate: strap-shaped.
marcescent: withering without falling off; as petals.
matt: dull, without lustre.
median: belonging to the middle; as median vein or nerve.
membranous: thin and ± pliable.
mesocarp: the middle layer of a pericarp or fruit-wall.
midrib: the main central nerve of a leaf or similar organ.
monochasial: of a cymose inflorescence in which the main axes each produce one branch.
monoecious: having unisexual flowers, ♂ and ♀ on the same plant. Fig. 29: Carex.
monotypic: having only one representative; as a genus with only one sp.
montane: of mountains; altitudinal zone taking in lower mountain slopes.
morphology: the study of form; hence morphologically, in respect of form.
mucilaginous: with a slimy covering or secretion; as sap in stems, or exudate from seeds in Juncus.
mucro: a short sharp tip or excurrent midrib; hence mucronate.
multitubular: many-tubed. Fig. 16 G: Juncus sect. Septati – leaf.
native: not known to have been introduced by human agency.
naturalised: thoroughly established, but originally coming from another area.
nectary: a gland exuding the sweet fluid called nectar; usually associated with flowers.
nerve: a strand of conducting and usually strengthening tissue in a leaf or other structure; this term is used for longitudinal strands, the transverse ones in contrast being called veins; hence nerved. Fig. 5C: Aponogeton distachyus – leaf.
node: a place on a stem marked by the attachment of one or more leaves.
nut: an indehiscent, 1-seeded fruit with hard woody wall.
ob-: signifies inversion, e.g. ovate and obovate.
obconic: in the shape of an inverted cone.
oblique: with the sides unequal. Fig. 28D: Carex forsteri – orifice at tip of utricle-beak.
oblong: longer than broad, with parallel margins and rounded ends.
obovate: reversed ovate, broadest at apex.
obovoid: of a solid body, as a seed, obovate in outline.
obtuse: blunt.
offset: a short runner bending up and with a cluster of leaves at the tip, rooting and becoming a new plant.
offset bulbs: small bulbs which develop in the axils of the outer bulb scales.
opaque: not translucent.
operculum: a lid or cover which separates and falls away at maturity; as seed of Spirodela.
opposite: of a pair of organs arising at the same level on opposite sides of an axis.
orbicular: round in outline, with length = width.
orifice: the mouth of a cavity; as at apex of Carex fruit-beak. Fig. 28: Carex – utricles.
outcast: a plant discarded from cultivation.
oval: broadly elliptic, narrowing somewhat from the middle to the rounded ends.
ovary: the part of the gynoecium that encloses the ovules.
ovate: egg-shaped, attached by the broad end.
ovoid: of a solid body with an ovate outline.
ovule: the structure which contains the egg of female sex-cell and which, after fertilisation, develops into the seed.
palmate: radiately lobed or divided; hence palmately.
panicle: an indeterminate branched inflorescence with the flowers pedicellate; hence paniculate.
papillae: minute pimple-like processes; hence papillose. Fig. 28F: Carex flacca – utricle surface.
parietal: pertaining to the wall; placentation is parietal when the ovules are borne on the walls of the ovary or on minute projections therefrom.
pedatisect: of a leaf-lamina palmately cut into toe-like segments with the divisions reaching nearly to the midrib. Fig. 13B: Dracunculus – leaf.
pedicel: the stalk of an individual flower in a compound inflorescence; hence pedicellate, pedicelled.
peduncle: the stalk of a solitary flower or the main stalk of a compound inflorescence; hence pedunculate.
peltate: shield-like, with the stalk attached well inside the margin. Fig. 14D: Colocasia – leaf.
pendent, pendulous: hanging down from its support. Fig. 20F: Sisyrinchium – pendent capsules.
perennial: with a life-span of more than two years.
perianth: the floral envelopes considered as a whole; used especially when the calyx and corolla are not well differentiated in form, or when either one is absent.
pericarp: the wall of the ripened ovary, i.e. of the fruit.
persistent: remaining attached, not falling off; as sepals, petals.
petal: a unit of the corolla, when completely free; hence petaloid, resembling a petal.
petiole: the stalk of a leaf; hence petiolate. Fig. 10: Eichhornia crassipes – petioles swollen; Fig. 11A: Alstroemeria pulchella – petioles twisted.
pinnate: compound, with the parts arranged on either side of an axis, as in a feather; hence pinnately.
pistil: the female part of a flower composed of one or more carpels and ordinarily differentiated into ovary, style and stigma.
pith: a soft spongy central tissue; as in stems of leafless Juncus spp.
placenta: the place or part in an ovary where the ovules are attached.
platelet: a small undifferentiated plant body; as in Lemnaceae.
plicate: folded, as in a fan, or folded into pleats, usually lengthwise; as leaf in Babiana and Wachendorfia.
plumose: feather-like.
pollen: the microspores of a flowering plant.
proliferous: producing offshoots or buds capable of growing into new plants; as inflorescences in Juncus bulbosus and Scirpus prolifer.
prostrate: lying flat on the ground.
pseudanthium: a reduced or partial inflorescence simulating a single flower; as in Centrolepidaceae.
pseudo-: prefix meaning false.
pseudobulb: a thickened, bulb-like portion of an aerial stem.
pubescent: clad in short hairs; diminutive puberulous.
pungent: ending in a stiff sharp point (Agave); or with sharp-tasting sap (Araceae).
raceme: an unbranched, ± elongate, indeterminate inflorescence with stalked flowers, those at the base the oldest; hence racemose.
radiating: diverging from or arranged around a common centre as the spokes of a wheel; as stolons of Eichhornia.
ray: a branch of an umbel or umbel-like inflorescence Fig 30: Cyperus – inflorescence.
receptacle: the ± expanded end of the stem or flower-stalk on which the flower or flower-head is borne.
recurved: curved backward or downward.
reduplicate: doubled back, used of palm leaves where the pinnae are A-shaped in T.S.
reflexed: bent sharply backwards.
remote: distant.
reniform: kidney-shaped.
reticulate: in the form of a network; used of veins and of fibres in corm tunics.
revolute: rolled outwards or to the lower (abaxial) side.
rhachis: the axis of an inflorescence or of a compound leaf; diminutive rhachilla, used especially of the axis of a spikelet.
rhizome: a ± horizontal underground stem; either short as in leafless spp. of Juncus; or far-extending as in Carex divisa; hence rhizomatous. Fig. 16A–C: Juncus.
ribbed: with prominent ribs. Fig 31 A1: Scirpus setaceus – nut.
rootstock: a short erect underground stem; the tissue at the junction of the root and the stem, sometimes referred to as a crown.
rosette: a group of organs radiating from a centre; used especially where the lowest internodes of a stem are very short with numerous, ± overlapping leaves which may be ± appressed to the soil.
rotate: wheel-shaped, radiately spreading in one plane; of a sympetalous corolla with spreading lobes and 0 or very short tube.
rotund: rounded, orbicular, nearly circular.
rudimentary: arrested at an early stage of development.
rugulose: wrinkled.
rupestral: growing on rocks.
sac: a pouch-like structure; as pollen-sac.
sagittate: in the form of an arrowhead with the basal lobes pointing downward or concavely toward the stalk; as leaves in spp. of Araceae. Fig. 14A: Alocasia macrorrhiza – leaf.
saline: pertaining to salt marshes.
saprophyte: a plant that obtains its food from dead organic matter; hence saprophytic.
scabrid: rough to the touch because of minute harsh projections. Fig 12: Agavaceae – leaf margins.
scale: any small, ± leaf-like organ, often dry and membranous.
scandent: climbing, usually without special climbing organs.
scape: a ± elongate bracteate or ebracteate peduncle arising from the crown of a plant with basal leaves only; hence scapose, like a scape.
scarious: very thin, dry and ± translucent.
scrub: a community of shrubby plants.
section: in taxonomy, a subdivision of a subgenus.
secund: one-sided, with all the flowers, leaves or other parts appearing to be arranged along one side of the axis; as flowers in Freesia.
seed: the reproductive body formed from a fertilised ovule.
segment: an individual free part of an organ.
sepal: one separate part of a calyx of free members, especially when green and ± leaf-like; hence sepaloid.
septate: divided by partitions. Fig. 16F–G: Juncus sect. Septati – leaves.
septate-nodulose: of leaves and sheaths in which the cellular cross-walls cutting across the longitudinal air tubes are very thick and clearly visible externally; used of leaves in Carex spp.
septicidal: dividing along a septum; of dehiscence of fruits by the breaking apart of the fused carpel walls that form the septa between loculi.
septum: a partition or cross-wall; pl. septa. Fig. 16F–G: Juncus sect. Septati – leaf.
serrate: with sharp teeth; diminutive serrulate.
seriate: arranged in a series.
sessile: without a stalk; of leaves or flowers.
seta: a fine bristle-like structure; pl. setae; hence setaceous.
sheath: a ± tubular structure enclosing an organ or part; as the sheath of a rush leaf.
shrub: a woody plant of not very large size and lacking a distinct trunk.
simple: not divided into several ± similar separate parts; contrasted with compound; of inflorescences, leaves and unbranched stems.
sinuate: with a strongly wavy margin.
spadix: a spicate inflorescence with relatively bulky, often succulent axis, usually subtended by a spathe; as in Araceae.
spathe: a large bract ± enclosing an inflorescence, often coloured when surrounding a spadix; hence spathaceous.
spathe-valves: bracts enclosing inflorescence or portion thereof as in Amaryllidaceae and Iridaceae. Fig. 20F–H: Iridaceae.
spathulate: spoon-shaped.
spiciform: with the form, but not necessarily the structure, of a spike.
spike: an unbranched, ± elongate, indeterminate inflorescence with sessile flowers or spikelets, those at the base the oldest; hence spicate.
spikelet: a small spike, sometimes including only one flower.
spiny: having stout, woody, sharp-pointed processes; diminutive spinulose. Fig. 12: Agavaceae – leaf margins.
spur: an outgrowth from a scale-like leaf; as in Asparagus.
stamen: a pollen-bearing organ, composed of an anther with pollen-sacs and its supporting stalk or filament.
staminode: a barren stamen, usually lacking an anther, and sometimes petaloid; pl. staminodes or staminodia. Fig. 7: Hedychium gardnerianum; Fig. 8: Canna indica.
standards: the narrow, erect or ascending inner perianth-segments of an Iris flower as opposed to the broader, often drooping falls. Fig. 21 (b): Iris.
stellate: star-shaped; hence stellately.
sterile: not producing seed, spores or pollen capable of germination; or not producing flowers as in some stems of Alstroemeriaceae.
stigma: the part of the carpel that is receptive to pollen, usually found at or near the tip of the style; hence stigmatose.
stipe: a stalk, often short, minute; hence stipitate.
stipule: one of a pair of scale-like or leaf-like appendages at the base of a petiole, sometimes ± adnate to the petiole, sometimes connate with the stipule of the opposite leaf.
stolon: a stem, ± horizontal or arched or running along the ground, rooting and usually capable of forming a new plant at its tip; hence stoloniferous.
stria: a fine longitudinal line or minute ridge; pl. striae; hence striate, striations.
strict: upright, straight, ± rigid.
style: the ± elongated part of the carpel between the ovary and the stigma.
style-base: enlarged base of style which becomes hard and persistent in some genera of Cyperaceae.
style-branch: a division of a divided style. Fig. 20B–E: Iridaceae.
sub-: prefix meaning somewhat, slightly, or not quite, e.g. subsessile.
subalpine: the altitudinal zone immediately below the climatic timberline.
subgenus: a subdivision of a genus.
submersed: growing under water.
subspecies: a subdivision of a species.
subtending: standing below but usually close to another organ; as a bract to its flower; hence subtended. Fig 30: Cyperus – bracts subtend inflorescence-branches.
subulate: tapering from a wider base to a sharp apex, ± circular in T.S.; from subula, an awl.
succulent: fleshy; composed of soft watery tissue.
summer-green: green in summer, the aerial parts dying away before winter.
superior: situated above another part; a calyx is superior when it appears to spring from the top of the ovary; an ovary is superior when it is free from the receptacle, with the perianth and stamens inserted below or around it. Fig. 26A–C: Cyperaceae – ovary superior.
superposed: vertically over some other part.
sward: short ground cover, with lawn-like appearance.
symmetrical: of stamens regularly arranged round the style. Fig. 20A2: Iridaceae.
sympetalous: the petals united, at least at the base.
sympodial: of a rhizome where growth is continued by the activity of an axillary bud; as in Iridaceae.
syncarpous: having the carpels united to one another.
synonym: a name which applies to the same taxon as another name.
tarn: a small mountain lake or pool.
taxon: a taxonomic group of any rank, e.g. family, genus, species, variety, etc.; pl. taxa.
taxonomy: the study of classification.
tepal: an individual glumaceous member of the perianth; as in Juncus and Luzula.
terete: circular in T.S.; either narrowly cylindrical or ± tapering.
terminal: borne at the end of a stem and limiting its growth.
terrestrial: plants living on land.
testa: the outer coat of a seed.
tetramerous: with organs or parts in fours.
throat: the opening of the corolla tube, the place where the limb joins the tube.
tiller: a side shoot; as in grasses or Carex.
tomentose: densely woolly or pubescent.
translucent: allowing passage of light but diffusing it; as leaves, or nerves in leaves of Cordyline.
transparent: transmitting light so that bodies beyond are completely visible.
tridentate: three-toothed. Fig. 20G: lxia – spathe-valve.
trigonous: of a solid body triangular in T.S., with the angles rounded; as fruits.
trilocular: having three locules.
trimerous: with organs or parts in threes.
triquetrous: of a solid body triangular in T.S., with angles sharp, faces ± concave; as of stems and fruits.
triseptate: having three septa; in Juncus, dividing the cavity of the ovary incompletely.
tristichous: in three vertical ranks; used of leaf arrangement.
truncate: appearing as though cut squarely across. Fig 20E: Homeria – tips of petaloid style-branches.
tuber: a thickened, usually subterranean part of a stem or root, often asymmetrically swollen; hence tuberous. Fig. 11C: Alstroemeria pulchella.
tunic: a loose membrane investing a corm or bulb; hence tunicate. Fig. 9B: Iridaceae – corm.
turbinate: top-shaped.
tussock: grass-like plant with dense tufted habit.
type: a nomenclatural type is that constituent element of a taxon to which the name of the taxon is permanently attached.
ultramafic scree: scree on ultramafic rocks i.e. rocks of high iron and magnesium content.
umbel: an indeterminate inflorescence sometimes flat-topped, with pedicels arising from a common centre, and so often umbrella-shaped; hence umbellate.
undulate: waved in a plane at right angles to the surface.
unilateral: one-sided.
unilocular: having a single cavity; used of ovaries.
unisexual: of one sex only.
unispicate: of inflorescence consisting of a solitary spike. Fig 29C: Carex subgenus Primocarex.
unitubular: having a single tube. Fig 16F: Juncus sect. Septati – leaf.
urceolate: urn-or pitcher-shaped.
utricle: a thin, loose but rather hard cover enveloping some fruits. Fig. 28. Carex.
valve: a door-like often separable part; hence valvate, valved. Fig. 20: Iridaceae – spathe-valves.
variegated: striped or blotched with various colours; usually of leaves.
vegetative: of non-sexual reproduction; or in the non-flowering state.
vein: a strand of conducting and usually strengthening tissue in a leaf or similar structure; in monocotyledons this term is commonly preferred for transverse strands, the longitudinal ones being called nerves. Fig 5C: Aponogeton distachyus – leaf.
versatile: of anthers attached to the filament at or near the middle and able to move freely.
villous: clad in long soft hairs not matted together.
whorl: an arrangement of three or more parts or organs at the same level round an axis; hence whorled. Fig. 2A: Elodea canadensis, 2C: Egeria densa – leaves in whorls.
wing: a thin membranous expansion of an organ or part; hence winged.
zygomorphic: having only one plane of symmetry, irregular, as of flowers. Fig. 7A: Hedychium gardnerianum – perianth.
