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This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary of leaf morphology. For other related terms, see Glossary of phytopathology, Glossary of lichen terms, and List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names.
pl. adelphiae
A bundle or structure of stamens forming one unit in an adelphous flower; for example, the stamen tube around the pistil of Hibiscus.Also graminology.
pl. apices
The tip; the point furthest from the point of attachment.pl. aphlebiae
Imperfect or irregular leaf endings commonly found on ferns and fossils of ferns from the Carboniferous Period.adj. apomictic
A type of asexual reproduction whereby viable seeds or spores are produced asexually, without fertilization, such that the genetic material they contain is a clone of the parent's genetic material. A plant produced in this way is called an apomict.pl. arboreta
A taxonomically arranged collection of trees.Plural archegonia.
pl. brochi
Width of one lumen of a pollen grain reticulum and half of the width of the surrounding muri (walls), hence heterobrochate and homobrochate, where the lumina are of different or similar sizes, respectively.
pl. calli
1. A protruding mass of tissuepl. calyces
Collective term for the sepals of one flower; the outer whorl of a flower, usually green. Compare corolla.pl. caudices
The stem of a plant, especially a woody one; also used to mean a rootstock, or particularly a basal stem structure or storage organ from which new growth arises. Compare lignotuber.adj. cauliflorous
Having flowers or fruits growing directly from a tree's branches or trunk.[27]sing. cilium; adj. ciliate
Very small hairs or hair-like protrusions more or less confined to the margins of an organ, as with eyelashes; in motile cells, minute, hair-like protrusions which aid motility.adj. clinal
A continuous morphological variation in form within a species or sometimes between two species.adj. cormose, cormous
A fleshy, swollen stem base, usually underground and functioning in the storage of food reserves, with buds naked or covered by very thin scales; a type of rootstock.pl. cortexesorcortices
A region of tissue located between the surface cells and the vascular cylinder.[31]adj. corymbose
Aninflorescence with branches arising at different points but reaching about the same height, giving the flower cluster a flat-topped appearance.pl. cyathia
Aninflorescenceofunisexual flowers surrounded by involucral bracts, especially the flowers of Euphorbia.adj. cymose
A type of inflorescence in which the main axis and all lateral branches end in a flower (each lateral may be repeatedly branched).
Also abbreviated dicot.
A flowering plant whose embryo has two or more cotyledons (seed leaves). Contrast monocotyledon.Also spelled disk.
A plate or ring of structures derived from the receptacle, and occurring between whorls of floral parts. In some groups, especially Sapindales, the nectary is in the form of a prominent disk. In daisies, the central part of the capitulum is a disk, hence flowers borne there are called disk flowers or florets.sing. domatium
Any hollow structure formed by a plant that is inhabited by animals such as ants or mites.
Also aglandular
Not having glands.Also elliptic.
Planar, shaped like a flattened circle, symmetrical about both the long and the short axis, tapering equally both to the tip and the base; oval.
adj. fasciculate
A cluster of flowers, leaves, needles, vascular tissue, etc., e.g. a tuft of leaves all arising from the same node.pl. fimbriae
Slender, hair-like projection; fringe.
pl. genera
A group of one or more species with features or ancestry (or both) in common. Genus is the principal category of taxa intermediate in rank between family and species in the standard nomenclatural hierarchy.Also globular.
Roughly spherical. See also subglobose.Also gramineous
Of or relating to grass.
pl. herbaria
A collection of preserved, usually pressed and dried, plant material used for identification and comparison; also a building in which such collections are stored.(never capitalized)
Of gardens, an author citation used in two ways:
adj. keeled
A prominent longitudinal ridge like the keel of a boat, e.g. the structure of the corolla formed by the fusion of the lower edge of the two abaxial anterior petals of flowers in the Fabaceae.
pl. lamellae
Thin, plate-like layer.adj. lamellate
Composed of an assemblage of many layers.
Also midvein.
The central and usually most prominent vein of a leaf or leaf-like organ.dim. mucronule.
A sharp, short point, generally at the tip of a leaf or the tip of the midrib of a compound leaf.[28]pl. mycorrhizae; adj. mycorrhizal
One of several types of symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a plant.adj. mycotrophic
A plant that obtains most or all of its carbon, water, and nutrients by associating with a fungus.
adj. nectariferous
A specialized gland that secretes nectar.
Also spelled ochrea.
Asheath formed from two stipules encircling the node in members of the Polygonaceae.Also imparipinnate
Having an odd number of leaflets in a compound pinnate leaf, such that there is only one terminal leaflet.pl. opera utique oppressa
Listed after the botanical name of a plant, or the name of a publication, this indicates that a publication is listed in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants as a suppressed work. Botanical names of the specified rank in the publication are considered not validly published (article 34).
pl. paleae
1. The upper of two bracts enclosing a grass flower, major contributors to chaff in harvested grain.adj. paniculate
Acompound raceme; an indeterminate inflorescence in which the flowers are borne on branches of the main axis or on further branches of these.pl. papillae; adj. papilloseorpapillate
A small, elongated protuberance on the surface of an organ, usually an extension of one epidermal cell.Also paraperigone.
An anomalous secondary outgrowth of the perianthal meristem with ramifying vasculature. See also perigonium, perianth, and corona.[42]Also patulous.
Spreading; standing at 45–50° to the axis. See also erecto-patent.adj. pedicellate
The stalk of a flower; may also be applied to the stalk of a capitulum in the Asteraceae.adj. pedunculate
The stalk of an inflorescence.adj. penninerved
With pinnately arranged veins.adj. perulate
1. The scales covering a leaf or flower bud, or a reduced scale-like leaf surrounding the bud. Buds lacking perulae are referred to as "naked".adj. phyllodineous
A leaf with the blade much reduced or absent, and in which the petiole and or rachis perform the functions of the whole leaf, e.g. many acacias. Compare cladode.Also phytomelanin; adj. phytomelanous
A black, inert, organic material that forms a crust-like covering of some seeds, commonly found in Asparagales, Asteraceae, etc.pl. pinnae
A primary segment of a compound leaf.adj. prickly
A hard, pointed outgrowth from the surface of a plant (involving several layers of cells but not containing a vein); a sharp outgrowth from the bark, detachable without tearing wood. Compare thorn.Also puberulent.
Covered with minute soft erect hairs.
adj. racemose,
Anindeterminate inflorescence in which the main axis produces a series of flowers on lateral stalks, the oldest at the base and the youngest at the top. Compare spike. Also racemiformorracemoid - having the form of a raceme.pl. rachisesorrachides
The axis of an inflorescence or a pinnate leaf; for example ferns; secondary rachis is the axis of a pinna in a bipinnate leaf distal to and including the lowermost pedicel attachment.
adj. saprophytic
A plant, or loosely speaking, a fungus or similar organism, deriving its nourishment from decaying organic matter such as dead wood or humus, and usually lacking chlorophyll. Compare parasite, saprotroph, and epiphyte.adj. saprotrophic
An organism deriving its nourishment from decaying organic matter. Contrast parasite and epiphyte.Also scabrous
Rough to the touch, with short hard protrusions or hairs.adj. scapose
Usages vary, e.g.: a leafless peduncle arising directly from the ground, or a stem-like flowering stalk of a plant with radical leaves.adj. sclerophyllous
A plant with hard, stiff leaves; any structure stiffened with thick-walled cells.pl. septa
A partition, e.g. the membranous wall separating the two valves of the pod of Brassicaceae.pl. setae; adj. setose, setaceous
A bristle or stiff hair (inBryophytes, the stalk of the sporophyte). A terminal seta is an appendage to the tip of an organ, e.g. the primary rachis of a bipinnate leaf in Acacia.pl. sori
A cluster of sporangia. Sori typically occur in ferns, some Algae and some fungi. In many fern species the sorus is covered by a protective indusium.adj. spathaceous
A large bract ensheathing an inflorescence. Traditionally any broad, flat blade.adj. spicate
Another name for a spike.adj. spicate
An unbranched, indeterminate inflorescence in which the flowers are without stalks. Compare raceme.adj. spinose
A stiff, sharp structure formed by the modification of a plant organ that contains vascular tissue, e.g. a lateral branch or a stipule; includes thorns.pl. squamules, squamulae; adj. squamulose
Small scales.adj. staminate
The male organ of a flower, consisting (usually) of a stalk called the filament and a pollen-bearing head called the anther.Also male flower.
A flower with stamens but no pistil.Also stipel; pl. stipellae
One of two small secondary stipules at the base of leaflets in some species.Also runner.
A slender, prostrate or trailing stem, producing roots and sometimes erect shoots at its nodes. See also rhizome.pl. stomata
A pore or small hole in the surface of a leaf (or other aerial organ) allowing the exchange of gases between tissues and the atmosphere.pl. strobili
A cone-like structure consisting of sporophylls (e.g. conifers and club mosses) or sporangiophores (e.g. in Equisetopsida) borne close together on an axis.Also undershrub
A small shrub which may have partially herbaceous stems, but generally a woody plant less than 1 metre (3.3 ft) high.pl. suffrutices
Asubshrub or undershrub.Also sym-.
A prefix meaning "with, together".
pl. taxa
A group or category in a system of biological classification.Also semiterete
Circular in cross-section; more or less cylindrical without grooves or ridges.Obsolete
1. A synonym for receptacle.pl. thalli
A vegetative structure that is not differentiated into stem and leaves, as in lichens, algae, thallose liverworts, and certain vascular plants, e.g. LemnaAlso tomentose
A dense covering of short, matted hairs. Tomentose is often used as a general term for bearing an indumentum, but this is not a recommended use.
Often variety in common usage and abbreviated as var.
A taxonomic rank below that of species and between the ranks of subspecies and form.Also nerve.
A strand of vascular tissue, e.g. in the leaves of vascular plants.Diminutive: virgulate
Wand-shaped, twiggy, especially referring to erect, straight stems. In mycology, referring to a pileus with radiating ribs or lines.