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Botanical
Glossary
Alternate - Not opposite one another along the
stem.
Annual - A plant which dies within a year of it's
germination.
Anther - The pollen bearing part of the stamen.
Axis - The main line of growth in a plant.
Biennial - A plant which lives more than one year
but less than two years from the time of it's germination.
Bract - A series of structures immediately below
the flower head which may look like a leaf, petal, or spine.
Branch - A secondary woody stem growing from the
trunk of a tree. The term is also used to describe the main ascending
axis of a woody plant. Often used as equivalent of axis or stem or
stalk.
Bud - The baby state of a stem, branch, or
flower.
Calyx - The outermost part of the perianth. The
function of the calyx is to protect the bud. Often green. Composed of
multiple divisions individually called sepals.
Corolla - The petals of a flower.
Crown - In
a weed, the region where the roots join the main stem. In a tree, the
topmost part.
Deciduous - Losing
leaves after the growing season.
Dehiscent - Opens
to let seeds escape.
Entire - A
leaf having no teeth or lobes along it's outer edge.
Evergreen -
Leaves or needles are green year round.
Filament - Any thread-like structure, but is used
especially to describe the part of the stamen which supports the anther.
Germination - When the plant sprouts and begins
to grow.
Leaf Axils - Where
the leaf joins the stem.
Legume - Specifically,
the "pea-pod" fruit of the family Fabaceae (old name:
Leguminosae). A member of the Pea family. A plant which has flowers
similar to those of a pea.
Node - The
"knuckles" along a stem from which a branch, leaf, or root can
grow.
Nutlet - A
small nut-like part of a fruit, especially associated with fruit of the
Borage, Mint, and Verbena families.
Perennial - A plant that can live more than two
years.
Perianth - The floral envelope regardless of
form, and composed of the calyx and corolla.
Pod -
Especially describes the fruiting body of the Pea family, i.e.
"pea-pod" but applies to any dry dehiscent fruit with more
than one seed.
Rhizomes - A
root-like stem which is prostrate, grows partly or wholly underground,
and can root from the stem nodes. Sometimes called
"Rootstock".
Rosette - A usually dense ring of ground hugging
and overlapping leaves.
Runner - A
prostrate stem above ground which can drop roots into the ground from
it's tip.
Sessile - Having
no stalk.
Stolon - A
prostrate stem above ground which can drop roots into the ground from
it's nodes.
Sepals - One of the outermost modified leaves
which surround and protect the re-productive organs of a plant.
Shoot - A
young stem (including leaves) which are growing.
Simple - Having
one piece.
Spike - Sessile
flower groups along an axis; where the younger flowers are toward the
tip.
Sprout - The youngest form of a plant. Usually
understood in the sense of sprouting from a seed and beginning to
grow.
Stalk - A short supporting axis of a plant,
as between a stem and the base of a leaf, as
between the root crown and the point where multiple branches diverge.
Often used as equivalent of axis or branch or stem.
Stamen - A male, pollen bearing organ of a
flower. An individual stamen is composed of two parts: the anther, and
the filament.
Stem - The main ascending axis of a plant. Often
used as equivalent of axis or branch or stalk.
Tap-Root - The
primary root. The underground portion of a plants main axis. May serve
to store food, or act as structural support, or both.
Whorled -3
or more leaves or other structures around a node.
Wing - A thin flange of tissue found along a stem
or seed.
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