Glossary
GLOSSARY
abaxial: facing away from the axis; used of lower lf surface.
abscissing: falling off; often used of floral parts.
acaulescent, acaulous: lacking a distinct stem.
accrescent: enlarging toward maturity, as of calyx after flowering.
accumbent: lying closely face to face; a radicle lying against the edges of a cotyledon.
acentric: not located at the centre.
achene: a small, dry, indehiscent, 1-seeded fr. with thin pericarp.
acicle: needle-shaped process; hence acicular.
acropetally: developing in a longitudinal plane from a lower to a more apical level.
acroscopic: of a pinna or lobe pointing toward the apex.
actinomorphic: with the parts radially symmetrical.
acuminate: tapering to a fine point, the sides ± concave.
acute: sharply pointed.
adaxial: facing towards the axis; used of upper lf surface.
adnate: united to an organ of a different kind, as sepals to petals.
adventitious: arising irregularly or in an unusual position, as roots from stems.
aerial: arising in the air, as roots from branches.
aestivation: the arrangement of perianth parts in the bud; see imbricate, valvate.
agamospecies: microspp. reproducing by apomixis.
allopolyploid: a polyploid derived from a hybrid between 2 or more taxa.
alluvial: of deposits of earth, sand, etc. left by water.
alpine: the area above tree limit.
alternate: spaced singly along an axis, not in opposite pairs or whorls; usually of lvs.
alveolae: deep, close pits; hence alveolate.
amphibious: living on both land and in water.
amphitropous: of ovules, retaining an essentially straight axis but turned through 90° on and fused with funiculus.
amplexicaul: clasping the stem.
ampliate: enlarged.
analgesics: drugs used to alleviate pain.
anastomosing: joining up to form loops or a network; usually of veins.
anatropous: of ovules, turned through 180° and with funiculus fused along one side and micropyle close to placental surface.
androgynophore: a stalk bearing both stamens and pistil above the point of perianth attachment.
andromonoecious: with ♂ and ⚥ fls on the same plant.
androphore: a stalk bearing the stamens.
anemophilous: pollinated via wind.
angustate: of lvs narrowed at the base.
angustiseptate: of a flattened 2-locular capsule (or silique) with the septum across the narrow diameter.
annual: completing its life cycle within 1 year.
annulus: a ring; particularly the ring of thick-walled cells in a fern sporangium forming part of the dehiscence mechanism.
anterior: on the side away from the axis and so appearing in front.
antheridia: in Cryptogams, the organs producing ♂ gametes.
anthocarp: an achene enclosed by the persistent base of the calyx.
anthocyanin: pigment producing blue or purple coloration.
antipetalous: positioned opposite the petals; usually of stamens.
antisepalous: positioned opposite the sepals; usually of stamens.
antrorse: directed forward or upward; usually of hairs.
apetalous: without petals.
apetiolate: without a petiole; hence apetiolulate, of leaflets.
apex: the tip or free end of an organ or part; hence apical, apically.
apiculus: a short, slender, ± flexible point; hence apiculate.
apocarpous: having free carpels.
apomict: plant producing viable seed without fertilization; hence apomictic.
apophysis: the exposed, expanded, distal part of the ovuliferous scale in ♀ conifer cones.
arborescent: approaching the size and habit of a tree.
archegonia: in Cryptogams, the organs producing ♀ gametes.
arcuate: curved or arched, ± strongly.
areole: a small delimited area, as the space between anastomosing veins; hence areolate.
aril: an appendage to a seed, usually an outgrowth from the funiculus, often pulpy; hence arillar, arillate.
aristate: with a stiff awn or seta.
articulate: jointed; with nodes or joints where parts may move or separate.
artificial: modified by humans.
ascending: directed upwards, usually at a sharp angle.
attenuate: gradually tapering.
auricle: an ear-shaped appendage or lobe; hence auriculate.
autogamous: automatic self-pollination within a fl.
autotrophic: see holophytic.
awn: a stiff or bristle-like projection often from the tip or back of an organ.
axil: the upper angle between 2 dissimilar parts; hence axillary, occuring in the axil.
axis: the main stem or central longitudinal support; plural axes.
baccate: of fr., berry-like, with pulpy mesocarp.
barbs: retrorse projections, particularly on hairs; hence barbate; diminutive barbellate.
basifixed: attached by the base; usually of anthers.
basiscopic: of a pinna or lobe pointing toward the base.
beak: a prominent extension of an organ, e.g. of an achene.
berry: a fleshy fr. containing several to many seeds but not a bony endocarp.
biennial: living usually 2 years and flowering and dying in the second.
bifarious: arranged in 2 opposite rows.
bilabiate: with 2 lips.
blade: the expanded part of a lf, petal, etc.
bole: the unbranched trunk of a tree.
bract: a modified, often much reduced lf, especially the small scale-like lvs of an infl.; diminutive bracteole; hence bracteate, bracteolate.
bristle: a stout, stiff hair.
bud: a much condensed, undeveloped shoot or fl.
budding: grafting by inserting a bud under the bark of the stock; hence budded.
bulb: a thickened, compressed stem with ± fleshy, scale-like lvs; diminutive bulbil; hence bulbous.
bullate: with the surface blistered or puckered.
bush: a shrub with dense branches, resulting usually in dense habit.
caducous: falling off at an early stage.
caespitose: growing in tufts.
calli: callus deposits, usually appearing as small coloured dots, as on lvs of Oxalis.
callus: a hardened, usually thicker part; hence callosity.
calyx: the outer, usually greenish, whorl of floral parts, consisting of free or united sepals; plural calyces.
calyptrum: a hood or lid usually formed by the calyx and usually falling as a unit; hence calyptrate.
cambium: a generative layer of thin cells whose divisions produce rows of vascular tissue cells or cork cells.
campylotropous: of ovules, curved with the micropyle nearly meeting the funiculus.
canescent: with grey-white pubescence.
capillary: hair-like.
capitulum: a dense head-like infl. of usually numerous sessile fls, as in most Asteraceae; plural capitula; hence capitate.
capsule: a dry dehiscent fr. formed by the union of 2 or more carpels.
carnivorous: of plants that capture and absorb animals.
carpel: one unit of the ♀ part of the fl., consisting of an ovary, style, and stigma; hence carpellate.
carpophore: a prolongation of the floral axis above the level of attachment of the perianth, either supporting the gynoecium or, as in most Apiaceae, carrying the pendulous ripe mericarps.
cartilaginous: firm and tough but flexible, like cartilage.
caruncle: a callus-like appendage at or about the hilum of a seed, often paler in colour than seed coat; hence carunculate.
casual: occuring sporadically and not establishing.
catkin: a spike or spikelike infl., usually unisexual, on a pendulous to erect axis.
caudate: bearing a tail-like appendage.
caudex: a stem with subsidiary organs, usually of herbaceous plants.
caulescent: having an evident above-ground stem.
cauliflorus: producing fls from old wood, especially the trunk.
cauline: belonging to the stem, especially its upper aerial part.
caulorrhiza: woody rootstock, as in Geraniaceae.
chartaceous: of thin papery texture, not usually green.
chasmogamous: of fls, opening for pollination.
choripetalous: with separate petals.
cilia: short hairs forming a fringe, usually at a margin; hence ciliate; diminutive ciliolate.
circinate: coiled, the apex innermost, as in young fern fronds.
circumscissile: dehiscing by a circular horizontal suture, the top valve coming off as a lid.
clathrate: latticed or pierced by apertures.
clavate: club-shaped, thickened toward the apex.
claw: a narrow stalk-like base of a petal or sepal.
cleistogamous: of fls, remaining closed and self-fertilizing; hence cleistogamy.
clone: a vegetative propagule, genetically identical with the parent; hence clonal.
coalescent: of the incomplete fusion of like parts, as in many compound frs.
cocci: the parts of a dry lobed fr., each part 1-seeded.
coherent: like parts in close contact but not fused.
column: body formed by the union of stamens, style and stigma, or sometimes of staminal filaments only; especially in Stylidiaceae.
coma: a tuft of hairs, as in seeds of Epilobium.
commissure: the face by which one carpel joins another.
compound: composed of several ± similar parts, as opposed to simple; as in compound lvs.
concolorous: of ± the same colour throughout.
conduplicate: folded together lengthwise, along the midrib, with the upper surface within; of cotyledons folded lengthwise around an incumbent radicle.
cone: a general term for the hardened fructifications, especially of the Pinaceae and Cupressaceae; hence coning.
conelet: a cone up to the time of fertilization.
confluent: blending or running together.
connate: joined together, especially of like parts.
connective: the tissue connecting the 2 lobes of an anther.
connivent: converging together; usually of 2 or more organs with their bases separated and their apices approaching one another.
contiguous: touching, adjoining.
contractile: capable of expanding and contracting, usually of roots.
convolute: rolled together, longitudinally; usually of floral whorls in bud, each part overlapping next unit of whorl.
cordate: heart-shaped, with the notch at the base.
coriaceous: of somewhat leathery texture, tough.
corm: a short, swollen, underground stem, usually erect and invested by few scales and lasting only one season.
corolla: the inner, often showy, whorl of floral parts, consisting of free or united petals.
corona: appendage projecting upwards or inwards from corolla, usually crown-like; hence coronal.
corrugate: evenly furrowed or wrinkled.
corymb: an indeterminate flat or convex-topped infl.; hence corymbiform, corymbose.
cotyledon: seed lf, usually present on embryo in the seed.
crenate: with shallow rounded teeth, the sinus acute; diminutive crenulate; hence crenation.
crepuscular: occurring in late afternoon and early evening, especially of fl. opening.
crispate: with margins curled, densely undulate.
croziers: young uncurling fern fronds.
cucullate: hooded or hood-shaped
cultigen: a plant known only in cultivation.
cultivar: a selected and named form reproduced in cultivation but not necessarily referable to a botanical sp.
cultrate: shaped like a knife blade.
cuneate, cuneiform: wedge-shaped, gradually and evenly narrowed to base.
cup: a cup-like structure; diminutive cupule; hence cupuliform, cupular.
cusp: a sharp rigid point; hence cuspidate.
cuticle: the outermost, ± impermeable layer on the epidermal cells.
cyathium: a cup-like structure, especially the perianth-like involucre surrounding fls in Euphorbia.
cyme: a determinate, usually flat or convex-topped infl.; hence cymose.
cypsela: an achene bearing an adnate calyx, as in some Asteraceae and related families.
deciduous: falling at end of season or when function has ceased; often of lvs in autumn.
declinate: bent or curved downwards.
decumbent: lying along the ground with the tip ascending.
decurrent: running or extending downwards, especially of lvs where the base is prolonged down the axis and adnate to it.
decussate: of lvs or other organs that are opposite with successive pairs at right angles and so forming 4 rows, as in lvs of some Crassula spp.
dehiscent: opening, usually regularly, to shed contents when ripe; hence dehiscence.
deltate: broadly triangular.
dendroid: resembling a tree in shape or mode of branching.
dentate: with sharp teeth perpendicular to margin, the sinus ± open; diminutive denticulate.
denticle: a minute tooth.
depressed: flattened from above.
diadelphous: in 2 sets, as of stamens in most papilionoid Fabaceae where 9 are united and one is free.
dichasium: a cyme in which the branches are opposite and ± equal in length, see Fig. 51.
dichotomous: forking into 2 equal branches.
didymous: twinned, the 2 parts similar and attached by a short length of their inner surface.
didynamous: with 4 stamens, one pair long, one pair short.
digitate: spreading from the centre like the fingers of a hand.
dioecious: the population comprising 2 sexual morphs, these being almost or quite strictly ♂ and ♀; hence dioecism.
diploid: having 2 sets of chromosomes.
disc: a flattened, ± fleshy development of the receptacle or coalescent nectaries, or the non-ligulate part of the capitulum made up of tubular fls in Asteraceae; hence discoid.
discolorous: of 2 different colours, especially of upper and lower lf surfaces.
discrete: separate, not adherent or coherent.
distal: towards the free, as opposed to the attached or proximal, end of an organ.
distichous: arranged in 2 opposite rows so as to lie in one plane.
distylous: having a floral dimorphism in which the anthers and stigmas vary in height between morphs so that the sequence of heights is different in each morph.
diurnal: occurring during the day, especially of fl. opening.
divaricate: spreading at a very wide angle.
domatia: small pits on the adaxial surface of lvs, between the veins and midrib or near the margin.
dorsally: relating to the back.
dorsifixed: attached by the back, especially of anthers.
drupe: a "stone fr.", the seed enclosed in a bony endocarp which is surrounded by a ± fleshy mesocarp; hence drupaceous; diminutive drupelet.
e- or ex-: prefix meaning lacking, e.g., ebracteate, eglandular, exstipulate.
elater: slender thread-like or coiled body found in sporangia and connected with spore dispersal.
ellipsoid: of a solid object, elliptic in section or outline.
elliptic: in the shape of an ellipse, rounded at both ends, widest in the middle.
emarginate: with a shallow notch at the apex.
embryo: the rudimentary plant within a seed, usually developing from a zygote.
endemic: native only to a particular country or region, in this Flora to N.Z. unless otherwise stated.
endosperm: the nutritive tissue outside the embryo in a seed.
endosporic: with the gametophyte wholly or partly growing within the spore wall.
endothecial: of the inner lining of the loculus of an anther.
entire: with a continuous margin completely lacking teeth.
entomophilous: pollinated via insects.
ephemeral: very short-lived.
epicalyx: a calyx-like structure immediately below the true calyx.
epicarp: of frs, the outer layer of the pericarp.
epicormic: of buds and shoots developing from the trunk.
epidermis: the outermost cell layer of most organs.
epigeal: above ground, especially of cotyledons.
epigynous: borne on the ovary; of a fl. in which stamens and perianth arise level with or above the top of the ovary which is adnate to the surrounding receptacle.
epimatium: in Podocarpaceae, a scale ± fused with the integument and partly or completely surrounding the ovule.
epipetalous: borne on the petals or corolla.
epiphyte: a plant growing upon another but not organically connected with it; hence epiphytic.
episepalous: borne on the sepals or calyx.
ericoid: of habit or lvs, with small, crowded, ± narrow-linear lvs, as in many Erica spp.
erose: with an irregular margin as if gnawed.
eusporangiate: with each sporangium originating from a group of cells, its wall > 1 cell thick.
evergreen: having lvs all through the year.
exfoliating: to peel off in strips or plates, as with bark from a trunk.
exocarp: the outer layer of the pericarp or fr. wall.
exosporic: with the gametophyte free-living, not enclosed by the spore wall.
extrorse: directed outward, used of anther dehiscence.
facultative: optional.
falcate: sickle-shaped; strongly curved.
farina: a mealy covering; hence farinose.
fasciation: an abnormal widening and flattening of the stem.
fascicle: a close cluster or bundle; hence fascicled, fasciculate, fascicule.
fastigiate: with the branches ± erect and close to the axis.
female: plants, fls, or fl. parts bearing the megagametophytes or ovules.
fenestrated: with window-like openings or translucent areas.
ferrugineous, ferruginous: rust-coloured.
-fid: suffix denoting cleft, e.g., 3-fid, cut into 3 narrow lobes.
filament: thread-like organ, especially the stalk bearing the anther; hence filamentous.
filiform: thread-like.
fimbria: hair or process forming part of a fringe; plural fimbriae; hence fimbriate.
fistular, fistulose: hollow and cylindric.
flabellate: fan-shaped.
flaccid: limp, not rigid.
flexuous, flexuose: having a wavy or zigzag form.
floccose: clad in tufts of soft woolly hairs, usually easily removed.
floral: of or pertaining to the fl.
floret: a small fl., used especially of individual fls in a composite head.
floriferous: flower-bearing.
flower: a complex of organs performing the reproductive functions of a flowering plant, usually comprising one or more stamens and pistils, surrounded by a corolla and a calyx.
foetid: having an offensive or strong odour.
foliaceous: leaflike.
foliose: bearing numerous or crowded lvs.
follicle: a dry dehiscent fr. formed from one carpel and dehiscing along ventral side; hence follicular, folliculate.
forma: a minor variant of a sp., perhaps differing by only a single character or caused by a single gene, and often occurring sporadically along with other forms of the sp.; plural formae.
free-central: of a placenta arising from the base of a 1-locular ovary but not touching the apex or the sides.
frond: a lf, used especially of ferns.
fruit: the ripened ovary containing the seeds; often used to include associated fleshy parts of the receptacle.
fruticose: shrubby.
fugaceous: falling very early, as of some petals and sepals.
fulvous: tawny; dull yellow with a mixture of grey or brown.
funicle, funiculus: the stalk of an ovule attaching it to the ovary wall or placenta.
funnelform: with a tube gradually widening upwards.
fused: joined together.
fusiform: spindle-shaped; of a solid ± swollen in the middle and narrowed to both ends.
gall: a swelling produced usually by an insect parasite.
gametophyte: the haploid body produced by the germinating spore and bearing sexual organs; in lycopods and ferns a small separate plant.
gamopetalous: with the petals united, at least at the base.
gamophyllous: with lvs or floral units united by their edges.
gamosepalous: with the sepals united, at least at the base.
gelatinous: jelly-like.
gemmae: asexual propagules, appearing like buds.
geniculate: with a knee-like bend.
genotype: genetic constitution, or a particular form so determined.
gibbous: somewhat swollen on one side, usually near the base, forming a pouch or sac.
glabrate: almost glabrous.
glabrescent: becoming glabrous.
glabrous: without hairs of any sort.
gland: a secreting organ or part, the secretion oil, resin, or other liquid; hence glandular.
glaucous: a distinct bluish green colour, not necessarily caused by bloom; hence glaucescent, slightly glaucous or becoming so.
globose, globular: of a solid object, spherical.
glochid: a small, barbed spine, as in Acaena; plural glochidia; hence glochidiate.
glomerule: a very dense cluster.
glutinous: sticky, or covered with sticky exudate.
granular, granulate, granulose: covered with small grain-like bodies.
gynobasic: of a style appearing to be inserted at the base of an ovary.
gynodioecism: the population comprising 2 sexual morphs, one being strictly ♀, the other, termed ♂, producing some seed; hence gynodioecious.
gynoecium: the ♀ part of the fl. made up of one or more carpels.
gynomonoecious: having ♀ and ⚥ fls on the same plant.
gynophore: a stalk raising the base of the ovary above the level of attachment of the androecium.
gynostegium: a column formed by the fusion of the stamens and the style and stigma; hence gynostegial.
halophyte: a plant growing within the influence of salt water.
hardy: able to withstand cold temperatures, especially of frost-tolerance.
hastate: shaped like an arrowhead, with the basal lobes pointed or narrow and spreading at a wide angle.
haustoria: the absorbing organs of a parasite or hemiparasite.
head: a short, dense infl. of sessile or almost sessile fls.
helicoid: of cymes modified by the loss of fls from the same side of each dichotomy, hence curving, common in Boraginaceae.
hemispheric: of solid objects, like 1/2 a globe.
herb: any vascular plant that is not woody; hence herbaceous.
herbal: a book describing plants used for food, flavouring, scent or medicine; hence herbalist, one with knowledge of such plants.
herbarium: a collection of dried or preserved plants, systematically arranged; plural herbaria.
herbfield: vegetation type, usually closed and distinguished by the abundance of herbs.
hermaphrodite: having both stamens and carpels.
heterogamous: with 2 or more kinds of fls, e.g., of the heads of many Asteraceae where ray florets differ from disc florets.
heteromorphic: with 2 or more forms.
heterophyllous: bearing lvs of 2 or more forms, especially of plants with aquatic and aerial lvs.
heterosporous, heterosporus: producing 2 or more kinds or sizes of spores.
heterostylous: having a floral polymorphism in which the anthers and stigmas vary in height among morphs so that the sequence of heights is different in each morph.
heterotrophic: of plants which are entirely saprophytic.
hilum: the scar on the seed marking the place of attachment to the funiculus.
hispid: bearing stiff, ± bristle-like hairs; diminutive hispidulous.
holophytic: of plants maintained by own organs, not dependent on other plants - free-living.
homogamous: with one kind of fl. only, especially used of some Asteraceae.
homologous: of the same origin, but often differing in form or function.
homomorphic: of one form.
homonym: a name spelt exactly the same as another but applying to a different type specimen.
homosporous: producing spores of one kind or size only.
horizontal: positioned at right angles to the main axis.
host: a plant having a parasite living upon it.
husk: an outer, usually loose, covering of some frs.
hybrid: a plant resulting from a cross between parents which differ sufficiently to be accorded taxonomic recognition, the hybrid name usually preceded by, or names of the parents joined by, ×; hence hybridise, hybridism.
hydrocyanic: producing hydrogen cyanide, as in lvs of some Fabaceae.
hydrophytic: living in water.
hygrochastic: of a capsule opening when wet and closing when dry, as in Aizoaceae.
hypanthium: a cup-like structure produced by the fusion of the bases of the floral envelopes and androecium, often referred to as a calyx tube.
hypodermal: the layer of cells immediately under the epidermis.
hypogeal: especially of cotyledons that do not appear above ground.
hypogynous: borne below the ovary; of a fl. in which perianth and stamens arise below the ovary.
imbricate: overlapping, like roof-tiles; in buds, with the edges of the organs overlapping, but not regularly.
immersed:± imbedded.
imparipinnate: pinnate with a single terminal pinna or leaflet.
inaperturate: without apertures, usually of pollen grains.
incision: a deep sharp cut; hence incised.
included: not projecting beyond the enveloping structure, as of stamens included within the corolla tube.
indehiscent: not opening to release its contents, except finally by decay.
indument, indumentum: general terms for a covering of hairs of any form.
induplicate: with the edges folded or turned in.
indurate: hardened and toughened.
indusium: an outgrowth of tissue ± covering the sorus in some ferns; plural indusia; hence indusial.
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.
inflorescence: a general term for the branch system on the floral axis, or for the arrangement of fls within this.
infructescence: a general term for the fruiting structure formed from an infl.
inserted: attached to or growing upon.
integument: a covering; used especially of the covering of the nucellus of an ovule.
internode: the part of an axis between 2 nodes.
interpetiolar: between the petioles; often applied to coalescent stipules of opposite lvs.
interstitial: placed in the space between 2 other organs.
interveinal: between the veins.
intramarginal: position just within the margin.
intrapetiolar: position on the inside of the petiole.
intrastaminal: positioned within the stamens, often of a floral disc.
introgression: infiltration of the genes of one taxon into the genotype of another through crossing and backcrossing.
introrse: facing inwards or towards the axis; often applied to anthers that open towards the centre of a fl.
invagination: the pushing inwards of a part of layer of cells so as to form a pocket.
investment: an enclosing covering or envelope; hence invested.
involucre: one or more whorls of bracts or lvs, often calyx-like, surrounding an aggregation of fls; hence involucral, involucrate; diminutive involucel.
involute: rolled inwards or to the upper (adaxial) side.
irritable: highly responsive to touch.
isobilaterally: with the 2 sides similar.
isodiametric: having equal diameter, particularly of structures of polyhedral form.
isozyme: the product of a particular allele at a heterozygous locus.
keel: a sharp central ridge, like the keel of a boat; used also of the united anterior petals of papilionoid Fabaceae.
kernel: the softer, often edible, part within the shell or harder outer layer of a fr.
lacerate: irregularly torn or cleft.
laciniate: deeply, usually irregularly, divided into very narrow, pointed segments.
lamellate: of placentation where a compound ovary comprises many carpels and the partitions have the ovules scattered over their surfaces.
lamina: a thin, flat organ or part, especially the expanded portion or blade of a lf; plural laminae, laminas.
lanate: clad in woolly, usually intertwined, hairs.
lanceolate: lance-shaped, much longer than wide and more gradually tapered to apex than to base.
lateral: positioned on the side or in an axil, as opposed to terminal.
latex: milky juice.
latiseptate: of a flattened 2-locular capsule (or silique) with septum across the broad diameter.
layer: stems covered with earth and then rooting; hence layering.
leader: a vigorous dominant shoot.
leaf: an expanded organ produced laterally from the stem and usually comprising the blade (lamina), petiole and stipules.
leaflet: one element of a compound lf.
legume: a simple, 1-celled and usually 2-valved fr.; also used as a name for members of the Fabaceae.
lenticel: a corky spot on young bark functioning as a pore; hence lenticellate.
lenticular: the shape of a ± circular, biconvex lens.
lepidote: clad in scurfy scales.
leptosporangiate: with each sporangium originating from a single superficial cell, its walls consisting of a single layer of cells.
liane: a woody climbing plant; hence lianoid.
ligule: a strap-shaped body, as the limb of the corolla in many Asteraceae; hence ligular, ligulate.
limb: the expanded part of a petal or sepal.
linear: very narrow and with parallel margins.
lingulate: tongue-shaped.
lobe: a recognisable but not separate division of a lf, calyx or corolla, especially when rounded; hence lobate; diminutive lobule, lobulate.
locule, loculus: a compartment or cavity of an organ, especially an ovary, fr. or anther; plural locules, loculi; hence locular.
loculicidal: of dehiscence by the splitting of the outer wall of each loculus.
loess: a fine grain deposit of yellowish grey loam, usually wind blown.
lomentaceous: of a legume or pod strongly constricted between the seeds.
lunate: with the shape of a crescent moon.
lurid: dingy brown or dull yellow.
lustrous: glossy.
lyrate: obovate with several deep recesses or sinuses on each side which gradually diminish in size to the base.
Macaronesia: the islands off the coast of N. Africa - Madeira Is, Canary Is, and Azores.
macrosporangium: a sporangium containing macrospores, the larger kind of spores in heterosporous plants.
male: plants, fls, or fl. parts bearing the microgametophytes or pollen.
mammillate: with nipple- or teat-shaped projections.
mangrove: subtropical or tropical intertidal forest or scrub.
mealy: covered with or as if with a fine dust or powder.
medifixed: attached at the centre, especially of anthers and hairs.
megaphylls: lvs with a branching vein system.
megasporangium: a sporangium containing macrospores, the larger kind of spores in heterosporous plants.
megaspore: the larger kind of spore in heterosporous plants.
megasporophyll: a ± modified leaflike structure bearing megasporangia; in angiosperms the carpel.
membranous: thin and ± pliable.
mericarp: a dry 1-seeded part of a fr., usually 1/2 of a schizocarp as in Apiaceae.
-merous: denoting parts and used mainly of floral organs, e.g., 5-merous, having the sepals, petals, etc. in whorls of 5.
microphylls: lvs with an unbranched vascular strand.
microsporangium: a sporangium containing microspores, the smaller kind of spores in heterosporous plants.
microspore: the smaller kind of spore in heterosporous plants.
microsporophyll: a ± modified leaflike structure bearing microsporangia; in angiosperms the stamen.
microsp.: a sp. in a genus where numerous spp. are recognised by minor characters, the entities usually maintained only via apomixis or selfing, as in Hieracium, Rubus fruticosus.
monadelphous: in one group, as of stamens all united by their filaments into a tube or column.
moniliform: constricted at short intervals and so appearing like a string of beads.
monocarpic: flowering and fruiting only once, usually after several years, and then dying.
monochasium: a 1-branched cyme, usually resulting from reduction of laterals, sometimes appearing raceme-like, see Fig. 51; hence monochasial.
monoecious: with unisexual fls, ♂ and ♀ on the same plant.
monolete: having a single scar or fissure on the spore wall, characteristic of bilateral pteridophyte spores.
monostelic: having one stele or central cylinder of vascular tissue.
monotypic: having only one representative, as of a genus with one sp.
monstrosity: horticultural novelties resulting from abnormality of growth, e.g., double fls.
morph: a discrete form, often with a genetical basis.
mouth: the opening at the apex of a tube, particularly of corolla or calyx.
mucilage: a viscous fluid; hence mucilaginous.
mucro: a short sharp tip or extended midrib; hence mucronate; diminutive mucronulate.
multicipital: with many heads, referring especially to the stock of a single root bearing many short branches.
muricate: rough owing to many minute, hard outgrowths; diminutive muriculate.
naked: of a part lacking bracts or appendages or of a fl. lacking a perianth.
napiform: turnip-shaped.
nectary: gland exuding fluid containing sugars and other compounds as a reward for pollinators; hence nectar, nectariferous.
neuter: of a fl. lacking functional sexual organs.
nocturnal: occurring during the night, especially of fl. opening.
node: a place on a stem marked by one or more lvs; hence nodal.
nut: an indehiscent, 1-seeded fr. with a hard, woody wall; diminutive nutlet, sometimes applied to the hard seed-like divisions of a fr. as in Boraginaceae.
nyctinastic: nocturnal folding of lvs or movement of other parts.
ob-: signifies inversion, e.g., obovate, obcordate.
obconic: like an inverted cone.
obligate: of a plant not able to adopt a different habit, e.g., obligate apomict, obligate parasite.
oblique: with sides unequal or meeting unequally.
obpyramidal: like an inverted pyramid.
obtriangular: like an inverted triangle.
obtuse: blunt.
ochrea: a tubular sheath at the node formed by the fusion of 2 (usually membranous) stipules, as in Polygonaceae; plural ochreae.
offset: a new plant produced vegetatively from a lateral shoot.
opaque: applied to a surface, dull not shining.
opercula, operculum: a lid or cover separated by a ± circular line of division, as in the fr. of Plantago.
opposed: placed opposite another organ.
opposite: of a pair of organs arising at the same level on opposite sides of a stem, especially of lvs.
orbicular: circular or nearly so.
orthotropous: of ovules, with axis in a straight line with the funiculus, and so erect, the micropyle remote from the placenta.
ostiole: a small opening or mouth, as in the infl. of Ficus.
oval: broadly elliptic, narrowing from the middle to 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 megagamete or egg and after fertilization develops into the seed; ovuliferous, bearing ovules.
palate: a prominent part enclosing the throat of a corolla, especially in Scrophulariaceae.
palmate: radially divided into separate parts and so compound.
palmatifid, palmatisect: radially divided or dissected but not compound.
pandurate: fiddle-shaped, ± obovate but with a waist.
panicle: an indeterminate, branched infl. with pedicellate fls; hence paniculate.
papilionaceous: butterfly-like; of a corolla with the parts in the form and arrangement of those of a sweet pea.
papilla: minute, pimple-like process; hence papillate, papillose.
pappus: a persistent calyx of special form crowning the achene of most Asteraceae; parts are usually numerous, simple or feathery hairs or bristles, or sometimes scales.
parallelogrammoid: with 4 sides, the opposite sides parallel.
paraphyses: sterile filaments or hair-like structures of various shapes occurring amongst sporangia in a sorus.
parasite: a plant attached to and deriving nourishment from another living plant; hence parasitic.
parietal: pertaining to the wall; placentation is parietal when the ovules are borne on the walls of the ovary or on minute projections therefrom.
paripinnate: evenly pinnate, i.e., without a terminal leaflet.
partite: deeply divided.
pectinate: divided in a comb-like fashion, with the segments narrow and close-set.
pedate: foot-like, with the segments arising from a broader base than palmate.
pedicel: the stalk of an individual fl.; hence pedicellate.
pendulous: drooping.
peduncle: a common leafless axis bearing several fls; hence peduncled, pedunculate.
pellucid: clear, transparent or nearly so.
peltate: shield-like, with the stalk attached well inside the margin.
pelviform: basin-shaped.
penicillate: provided with a brush of hairs.
penninerved: pinnately veined.
perennial: with a life span of > 2 years; hence perennate.
perfoliate: of a sessile lf or bract completely encircling the axis, so having the stem apparently passing through it.
perianth: the floral envelopes considered as a whole; especially used when the corolla and calyx are not well differentiated, or when either one is absent.
pericarp: the wall of the ripened ovary, i.e., of the fr.
perigynous: surrounding the ovary; of a fl. in which perianth and stamens arise from the edge of a ± cup-shaped receptacle, surrounding but free from the ovary.
perisperm: food reserve in a seed, formed from the nucellus.
perulae: scales, usually those covering a seed or bud.
petal: a unit of the corolla, when completely free, usually coloured other than green; hence petaline; petaloid, resembling a petal.
petiole: the stalk of a lf; hence petiolar, petiolate.
petiolule: the stalk of a leaflet; hence petiolulate.
phenotypes: the sum of the characteristics manifested by an organism - varying as a result of the genotype or environment.
phyllode: a widened petiole or rachis functioning as a lf blade; hence phyllodinous.
phytophagous: plant-eating.
pilose: bearing soft shaggy hairs.
pinnate: compound with the parts arranged on either side of an axis; pinna, pinnule, the elements of a pinnate lf.
pinnatifid, pinnatisect: divided or dissected to varying degrees in a pinnate fashion but not compound.
pistil: the gynoecium, comprising the ovary, style and stigma.
placenta: the place or part of an ovary where the ovules are attached.
placentation: the arrangement of the placentae within the ovary, i.e., axile, free-central, parietal.
plano-: having one surface flat, as in plano-convex.
plicate: folded into pleats, usually lengthwise.
ploidy: of the level of chromosome duplication.
plumose: feather-like.
pneumatophores: specialised root branches produced by some plants growing in water, especially mangroves, the branches erect and projecting into the air.
pollination: the process by which pollen is transferred from anthers to stigmas.
pollinator: an agent used by a plant to achieve pollination and fertilization.
pollinium: a coherent mass of pollen, as in Asclepias; plural pollinia.
polymorphic: having several forms, usually of spp. varying greatly among individuals; hence polymorphism.
polyphyletic: of a group of taxa classified together even though some have quite distinct evolutionary histories.
polyploid: having a chromosome complement of 2 or more times the normal diploid number.
polystelic: having more than one stele or central cylinder of vascular tissue.
pome: a simple, fleshy fr. with a soft exterior and papery or cartilaginous carpels, e.g., an apple.
poricidal: opening or dehiscing by pores.
posterior: on the side nearest the axis and so appearing at the back.
pouch: a bag-like cavity.
prickle: a small sharp outgrowth of superficial origin; diminutive pricklet.
primocane: the vigorous, first year non-flowering stems of Rubus.
procumbent: lying ± flat along the ground but not rooting.
prophyll: a small lf or bract.
prostrate: a general term for lying flat on the ground.
protandrous: with the anthers shedding pollen before the stigma is receptive.
prothallus: a small body produced by the germinating spore and bearing sexual organs, the gametophytic generation of pteridophytes.
protogynous: with the stigma receptive before pollen is shed from the anthers.
provenance: derivation as to region.
proximal: towards the attached, as opposed to the free or distal, end of an organ.
pruinose: bearing a waxy or powdery bloom on the surface.
pseudo-: false.
puberulent, puberulous: covered with exceedingly fine, short, dense hairs.
pubescent: clad in short soft hairs; hence pubescence.
pulvinate: of cushion-like form; growing in dense cushions.
punctate: with dot-like markings, frequently owing to translucent or coloured glands; hence punctiform; diminutive puncticulate, punctulate.
pyrene: a seed with a bony endocarp, usually when there are several in a fleshy fr.
pyriform: pear-shaped.
quadrate: square or rectangular.
raceme: an unbranched, ± elongate, indeterminate infl. with stalked fls; hence racemoid, racemose.
rachis: the axis of an infl. or of a compound lf.
radiate: diverging from or arranged around a common centre, as the spokes of a wheel; also bearing ray florets, as in many Asteraceae.
radical: of lvs, arising from the stock or crown of a root or from a rhizome.
radicle: the primary root of an embryo.
ramiflorous: producing fls from branches.
raphides, rhaphides: bundles of crystals of calcium oxalate.
ray: the florets with strap-like corollas in many Asteraceae; also a peduncle forming part of an umbel.
receptacle: the ± expanded termination of the stalk which bears the fl. parts, the fl. or the fl. head.
recurrent: of flowering, continuing to bloom through the season after the initial flowering period, as in many roses.
reflexed: bent sharply backwards.
regma: a dry dehiscent fr. of usually 3 (rarely more) cells as in Euphorbiaceae.
regular: symmetric; of fls radially symmetric = actinomorphic.
reniform: kidney-shaped.
replum: a frame-like placenta from which the valves fall away in dehiscence, as in many Brassicaceae.
resinous: containing or producing resin, and so sticky.
resupinate: twisted through 180°.
reticulate: in the form of a network; hence reticulum.
retrorse: bent backwards or downwards, usually abruptly.
retuse: with the apex rounded with a small notch.
reversion: of shoots bearing lvs of juvenile form.
revolute: rolled outwards or to the lower (abaxial) side.
rhizome: an underground stem, usually spreading ± horizontally; hence rhizomatous.
rhombate, rhombic: diamond-shaped; hence rhomboid, similar but in 3 dimensions.
root: the descending axis of the plant, initially developing from the radicle.
rootcrown: the part of the stem at the ground surface.
rootstock: a short, erect underground stem; a stem with roots, used for grafting.
rosette: a group of organs radiating from a centre, especially used where internodes are short and lvs overlap; hence rosulate.
rostrate: beaked.
rotate: wheel-shaped; of a gamopetalous corolla with a flat, circular limb at right angles to a short tube.
rotund: orbicular.
rudimentary: imperfectly developed, vestigial.
rufous: of reddish colour.
rugose: wrinkled; hence rugosity; diminutive rugulose.
ruminate: of irregular mottled appearance.
runcinate: pinnately and rather sharply lobed, with the lobes ± directed backwards.
runner: a slender, ± prostrate or arching lateral stem rooting at the nodes.
rupestral: growing on rocks.
sac: a pouch-like structure; hence saccate.
sagittate: in the form of an arrowhead with the basal lobes at a narrow angle to the stalk.
saline: salty.
salverform: of a gamopetalous corolla with a ± long slender tube abruptly expanded into a flat limb.
samara:1-seeded winged fr.
saprophyte: a plant that obtains its food from dead organic matter; hence saprophytic.
scabrid, scabrous: rough to the touch because of minute harsh projections; diminutive scaberulous, scabridulous.
scale: a small ± leaflike organ, often dry and membranous.
scandent: climbing, usually with special climbing organs.
scape: a leafless, ± elongate peduncle arising from the crown, with or without scales or bracts, usually with a single fl. by reduction; hence scapose.
scarious: very thin, dry, and ± translucent.
schizocarp: a dry fr. splitting into 1-seeded halves when ripe.
sclerotic: hardened, stony in texture.
scorpioid: of a cymose infl., with the young axis coiled like the tail of a scorpion.
scrambler: an unspecialised climber, not usually reaching a great height.
scree: loose, ± moving, stony debris.
scutate: shield-shaped.
secund:1-sided, with all the fls, lvs or other parts appearing to be arranged along one side of the axis.
seed: the reproductive body formed usually from the fertilized ovule.
segment: an individual free part of an organ.
selfing: of pollination and fertilization within one plant.
sensitive: responding to stimulation, particularly touch as in triggered stamens of Berberis.
sepal: one separate part of a calyx of free members, especially when green and leaflike.
septicidal: dividing along a septum; of dehiscence by breaking apart of the fused carpel walls that form the septa between loculi.
septifragal: when in dehiscence the valves break away from the septa.
septum: a partition or cross-wall; plural septa, septae; hence septate.
seriate: arranged in series or rows, e.g., 1-seriate, in 1 row.
sericeous: silky; clad in soft, simple, ± appressed hairs.
serrate: sharply toothed with the teeth pointing forward; hence serration; diminutive serrulate.
sessile: without a stalk.
seta: a fine bristle-like structure; hence setaceous, setose; diminutive setulose.
shrub: a woody plant with many stems and lacking a distinct trunk; diminutive shrublet, a very small shrub, usually with slender stems.
siliceous: containing minute particles of silica.
silique: a capsule, usually 2-locular, with 2 valves falling away from a frame (replum) bearing the seeds, characteristic of Brassicaceae; hence siliquiform; diminutive silicle, used when length is not or little > 3× width.
simple: not divided into several ± similar separate parts; contrasted with compound.
sinuate: with shallow broad waves to the margin but not undulate.
sinus: the recess between 2 lobes or segments.
solitary: occurring singly.
sordid: of an impure or dirty white appearance, especially of the pappus of some Asteraceae.
sorus: a cluster of sporangia, as in most ferns; plural sori.
spathe: a large bract ± enclosing an infl.
spathulate: spoon-shaped.
spherical: of a solid body with a circular outline.
spike: an unbranched, ± elongated, indeterminate infl. with sessile fls; hence spicate, spicately, spiciform; diminutive spikelet.
spine: a stout, woody process with a sharp point; hence spinescent, spinose, spinous; diminutive spinules, spinulose.
sporangiophore: a stalk bearing a sporangium.
sporangium: a sac or other structure containing spores; plural sporangia.
spore: a simple, asexual, usually 1-celled reproductive body, as in ferns.
sporocarp: a thick-walled body containing sporangia.
sporophyll: a ± modified leaflike structure bearing sporangia.
sporophyte: the plant which bears not sexual organs but asexual spores; in lycopods and ferns the ordinary plant; in seed plants the whole plant except the embryo sac and pollen grain.
sport: a plant or part of a plant exhibiting abnormal variation, often as a result of somatic mutation, often used to produce new cvs.
spreading: extended laterally, of trees with broad crown.
spur: a sac or tubular part, often nectar-secreting, of a petal or sepal; hence spurred.
stamen: the pollen-bearing organ, composed of an anther with pollen sacs and its supporting filament.
staminode: a non-functional stamen, sometimes petaloid.
stellate: star-shaped, usually of hairs with many radiating arms.
sterile: not producing seed, spores or pollen capable of germination.
stigma: the part of the carpel that is receptive to pollen, usually found at or near the tip of the style; hence stigmatic.
stipe: a stalk; mainly used of petiolar part of fern lf; hence stipitate.
stipel: the stipule subtending a leaflet; hence stipellate.
stipule: one of a pair of scale-like or leaflike appendages at the base of a petiole; hence stipular, stipulate.
stolon: a stem, ± horizontal or arched or running along the ground, rooting and capable of forming a new plant at its tip; hence stoloniferous.
stomata: pores in the epidermis through which gases diffuse.
striate: with fine longitudinal lines or ridges.
strigose: with sharp, ± appressed hairs, often ± swollen at base; diminutive strigulose, strigillose.
strobilus: a cone-like structure containing reproductive organs, as in lycopods and pines; plural strobili; hence strobilate.
strophiole: an aril-like but hard appendage of a seed, at or near the micropyle; hence strophiolate.
style: the ± elongated part of the carpel between the ovary and stigma; hence stylar.
stylopodium: an enlarged basal part of a style, as in many Apiaceae.
sub-: prefix indicating somewhat less than.
subshrub: a small plant with stems ± woody towards the base.
subtend: stand below, but usually close to, another organ, as a bract to its fl.
subulate: awl-shaped; tapering from a wider base to a sharp apex, ± circular in cross-section.
succulent: fleshy, soft and thickened in texture.
sucker: leafy shoot of subterranean origin; hence suckering.
sulcate: with longitudinal grooves, less pronounced than furrowed.
superior: situated above another part; an ovary is superior when it is free from the receptacle, with the perianth and stamens inserted below or around it.
superposed: of a part or organ placed vertically above another, especially of buds.
suture: a line or seam formed at the junction of 2 margins; used especially of dehiscent frs.
sympatric: of taxa growing together in a particular region.
sympetalous: with the petals united at least at the base.
sympodial: of an axis made up of the basal portion of several branches, the apex of each branch dying or forming an infl. and growth continued by an axillary bud.
synangium: a concrescence of sporangia.
syncarp: an ovary of 2 or more united carpels; hence syncarpous, having united carpels.
synchronous: occurring at the same time.
syngenesious: with the anthers connate into a tube surrounding the style, as in the florets of Asteraceae.
synonym: a name based on the same type as an earlier published name, or based on a different type but the plant not considered distinct; hence synonymy, a list of synonyms.
talus: sloping mass of rock fragments, e.g., at foot of cliff.
taproot: the chief descending root.
tawny: brownish yellow, brownish orange, or tan-coloured.
taxon: a taxonomic group of any rank, e.g., family, genus, sp., var.; plural taxa.
tendril: a slender twining part of a climbing plant formed from the whole or part of a stem or lf; hence tendrilous.
tepal: an individual member of the perianth; hence tepaloid.
terete: circular in cross-section.
terminal: borne at the end of a stem.
ternate: compound with the parts arranged in threes; hence ternately.
ternatifid, ternatisect: divided or dissected in threes but not compound.
testa: the outer coat of a seed.
tetrad: a group of 4, in angiosperms particularly of pollen cells or pollen grains.
thalloid: of a plant body lacking differentiation into lf and stem.
throat: of gamopetalous corollas, the opening or mouth of the tube.
thyrse: a compact, ± cone-shaped panicle; hence thyrsoid.
tomentum: a dense, ± matted covering of soft hairs; hence tomentose; diminutive tomentulose.
torulose: cylindric or nearly so with constrictions or swellings at ± regular intervals.
trailing: growing for some length over the ground, walls or banks.
translucent: transmitting light but not transparent.
transverse: at right angles to the axis.
tree: a woody plant with a distinct trunk or bole and a ± elevated crown.
trichome: any usually hair-like outgrowth of the epidermis.
trigonous: of a solid body triangular in section.
trilete: having 3 scars or fissures on the spore wall, characteristic of tetrahedral pteridophyte spores.
tristylous: having a floral trimorphism in which the anthers and stigmas vary in height among morphs so that the sequence of heights is different in each morph.
truncate: appearing as though cut squarely across, especially a broad square base to a lf.
trunk: the main woody supporting stem of a tree.
tube: a hollow cylinder; diminutive tubule.
tuber: a thickened, usually subterranean, part of a stem functioning as a storage organ; hence tuberous.
tubercle: a small wart-like swelling; hence tubercled, tuberculate, tubercules.
tunic: a loose membrane investing a corm or bulb.
turbinate: top-shaped.
turgid: swollen or fully inflated.
turion: a young sucker or shoot capable of generating a new plant.
twig: a young woody stem, usually the current season's growth of a branch.
type: a specimen to which the name of a taxon at or below the rank of genus is permanently attached.
umbel: an indeterminate infl. with peduncles or pedicels arising from a common centre, and so often umbrella-shaped; hence umbellate, umbelliform; diminutive umbellet.
umbo: a small conical projection from the surface, particularly of gymnosperm cones; hence umbonal.
undulate: waved in a plane at right angles to the surface.
unilabiate:1-lipped.
unisexual: of one sex only.
urceolate: urn-shaped.
utricle: a thin loose cover enveloping some frs.
valvate, valvar: of dehiscing frs, opening by valves; of perianth segments in bud meeting at the edges but not overlapping.
valve: a door-like, often separable, part.
variegated: marked with irregular or regular patches, blotches or lines of 2 or more colours, often the markings lacking chlorophyll and giving the part a diseased appearance.
variety: an infraspecific unit of classification, correctly applied to a regionally distinct part of a sp., often incorrectly used for a cv.
vascular: furnished with specialised conducting tissues.
vein: a strand of conducting and usually strengthening tissue in a lf or similar structure.
velutinous: velvety.
venation: the arrangement of the veins.
ventral: of the inner or lower surface of an organ.
ventricose: of a swelling on the ventral surface.
vernation: the arrangement of lvs in the bud stage.
verrucose: marked with small wart-like excrescences; diminutive verruculose.
versatile: of anthers attached to the filament at or near the middle and able to move freely.
verticel: a whorl of fls or lvs; in Lamiaceae a false whorl of fls that are in cymes; hence verticillate; diminutive verticillasters.
vesicle: a small bladdery sac filled with gas or fluid; hence vesicular.
vestigial: a part now degenerate and non-functional.
vestiture: a covering of any sort, usually hairs or modified hairs.
vexillary: of the broad upper petal in many Fabaceae, especially with reference to the uppermost, often free, stamen.
viable: of spores, seeds, and pollen which is able to germinate.
villous: clad in long soft hairs not matted together.
vine: climbing or trailing woody stemmed plant.
virgate: elongated, straight, slender and pliant, or composed of twigs of this form.
viscid, viscous: sticky.
vittae: the oil tubes embedded in the pericarp of the frs of most Apiaceae.
whipcord: of a flexible branch with appressed, imbricate scale-like lvs.
whorl: an arrangement of 3 or more parts or organs at the same level around an axis.
xeromorphic: of plants adapted to dry conditions.
zygomorphic: having only one plane of symmetry; used especially of irregular fls.
