-
small, dry, one-seeded fruit with soft outer wall
Acuminate
-
with a long-tapering point
Acute
-
sharply pointed
Aerial
-
root above the ground, not in contact with soil, sometimes anchoring the plant to a support
Alternate
-
leaves or leaflets arranged alternately along the axis (compare opposite, whorled)
Angiosperm
-
plant with flowers and seed-bearing fruits
Annual
-
plant whose life cycle is completed in one year or one season
Apex
-
the pointed end or tip (of leaf)
Appressed
-
lying flat against or nearly parallel to the surface (of a stem or leaf)
Aquatic
-
growing only in water
Aromatic
-
fragrant, especially when crushed
Awn
-
stiff, bristle-shaped appendage, usually at the end of a structure
B
Barb
-
hook-like projection
Basal
-
at the base or at ground level
Bi-pinnately
-
compound leaf with leaflets divided into subleaflets
Bipinnatifid
-
pinnatifid with the segments also divided pinnatifid (especially fern fronds)
Blade
-
leaf like a grass, or the widest part of a leaf, distinct from a petiole
Bract
-
modified leaf which may be reduced in size or different from the foliage leaves and which usually subtends a flower or an inflorescence
Bristle
-
stiff hair-like structure, standing upright away from stem or seed
Bundle
-
mark from vascular bundles left on leaf scar when leaf falls
Buttressed
-
swollen and spreading trunk at the base of a tree, to aid in stabilization
C
Capsule
-
dry fruit, with rows of seeds and splitting in compartments at maturity
Carnivorous
-
meat-eating, or insect-eating as in the case of carnivorous plants
Catkin
-
a spikelike, often drooping, inflorescence with small flowers subtended by scales
Chambered
-
when the pith or inner spongy portion of branches is divided into sections or rooms
Clasping
-
having the lower edges of a leaf blade partly surrounding the stem
Compound
-
divided into two or more separate parts (leaflets)
Conical
-
shaped like a cone
Cordate
-
shaped like a heart
Corolla
-
all petals of a flower, whether fused or separated
Corymb
-
flat-topped inflorescence in which individual flowering stems arise from various points on the stem to the same height; outermost flowers bloom first. Example: Lachnanthes caroliniana (redroot)
Crenate
-
leaf margin with shallow, rounded teeth or lobes; wavy-edged
Culm
-
stem of a grass or grass-like plant
Cyme
-
a broad, flat inflorescence with a main center stem topped with a single flower; innermost flowers bloom first. Example: Rhynchospora spp.
D
Deciduous
-
plants that lose their leaves once a year, usually in winter
Dentate
-
toothed or jagged with sharp points perpedicular or at an angle to the leaf margin
Diaphragmed
-
when the pith or inner spongy portion of branches contains membranous divisions or lines
Dicot
-
veins in leaves are branching; plants have two cotyledons (embryonic leaves) when a seed sprouts
Disk
-
flower comprised of combination of small, tubular flowers in the center, and outer ray flowers, each with a linear petal extension of the corolla
Doubly
-
leaf margin where each sharp tooth is divided into smaller sharp teeth
Drupe
-
a fleshy, berry-like fruit containing one seed
E
Elliptic
-
football-shaped, with the widest point at the middle
Entire
-
smooth leaf margins, without teeth or divisions
Evergreen
-
plants which retain their leaves throughout the year
F
Frond
-
the entire leaf of a fern including the stipe (petiole), rachis (stem), and leaf blade
Furrow
-
long, deep groove, as in bark
G
Glabrous
-
smooth, without hairs
Glaucous
-
gray-green in color, or having a thin, whitish, powdery coating like that on grapes
Globose
-
spherical, globe-shaped
Graminoid
-
grass-like plant with elongated, linear leaf blades, usually referring to grasses, sedges, and rushes
Gymnosperm
-
a plant that reproduces via cones with seeds not enclosed in fruits
H
Hastate
-
elongate, heart shaped with pointed basal lobes occurring at right angles to the petiole
Holdfast
-
aerial root that functions to anchor a climbing plant to its support
I
Inflorescence
-
flowering portion of a plant (a group of flowers)
L
Lanceolate
-
lance-shaped or spear-shaped; much longer than wide, with the broader end near the base
Leaflet
-
each of the separate leaf-like structures that make up a compound leaf
Lenticel
-
enlarged pore that functions in gas exchange, appears as a dot on stem
Ligule
-
a strap-shaped individual flower in a head in the Asteraceae family that contains only ray flowers, or ligules (e.g. Dandelion)
Lobed
-
rounded extensions along a leaf margin; rounded sections of a fruit, divided by a line or split
M
Margin
-
outer edge of a leaf
Midrib
-
center vein in a leaf, usually extending from petiole to tip
Monocot
-
veins in leaves run parallel to each other; plants have one cotyledon (embryonic leaf) when a seed sprouts
N
Node
-
area along a stem where leaves usually originate
Nutlet
-
small, dry, one-seeded fruit with a very thin or no outer wall
O
Oblanceolate
-
longer than wide, with the broader end near the apex
Obovate
-
oval in shape with the broader end above the middle
Opposite
-
leaves or leaflets born on stem in pairs from opposite sides
Ovate
-
oval in shape, with the broader end below the middle
Ovoid
-
egg-shaped
P
Palmate
-
leaf with several midrib veins radiating from a center point
Palmately
-
compound leaf with several (5 to 7) leaflets all attached at a center point
Panicle
-
irregularly branched inflorescence
Perennial
-
plant which grows year after year
Perigynium
-
sac-like structure enclosing the fruit in Carex spp.
Petiole
-
stalk supporting a leaf
Pinna/pinnae
-
leaflet or a division of the leaf blade (frond) in ferns
Pinnately
-
divided into leaflets arranged on either side of a stem or petiole, as in a feather
Pinnatifid
-
pinnately divided (leaf or frond), but not fully to the central axis
Pinnule
-
subdivisions of leaflets (pinnae) in a fern frond
Pith
-
soft center inside a stem or twig
Plume
-
long, soft, fluffy inflorescence
Pome
-
type of fleshy fruit with multiple small seeds in the center
Pubescent
-
hairy or fuzzy
Punctate
-
having a surface scattered with tiny, depressed dots
R
Raceme
-
spike-like inflorescence with the flowers stalked
Rachis
-
central stalk of a compound leaf, frond, or inflorescence
Resinous
-
exuding a sticky organic substance, insoluble in water
Rhizome
-
elongated, underground root, which usually grows horizontally
Rosette
-
circular arrangement of leaves, attaching at a central point as in basal rosette (at ground level)
S
Sagittate
-
shaped like an arrowhead, triangular
Samara
-
flat, winged fruit; dispersed by wind; found on trees such as maples
Scabrous
-
having rough or finely toothed edges
Scale
-
leaves that are thin, flat, and pressed closely together, as in some conifers like cedars
Scalloped
-
having shallow, rounded lobes
Semi-evergreen
-
plants that lose most, but not all, of their leaves for part of the year, usually winter
Sepal
-
modified leaves located at the base of the flower
Septate
-
partitioned into sections
Serrated/serrations
-
containing sharply pointed teeth
Sessile
-
attached by the base directly to the stalk without a petiole
Sheath
-
part of a leaf base that closely surrounds the main stem
Sori
-
clusters of spore cases on a fertile frond of a fern
Spadix
-
fleshy spike with flowers embedded along the axis
Spathe
-
leaf-like hood, open on one side, enclosing an inflorescence. Example: Jack-in-the-pulpit
Spherical
-
globe-shaped
Spike
-
elongated inflorescence with the flowers not stalked
Spikelet
-
unit of the inflorescence in the grass and sedge families, containing one or more flowers
Stamen
-
pollen bearing (male) part of a flower
Stipular
-
scar that is left on a twig when a leaf or petiole drops
Stipule
-
small, leaf-like outgrowth at base of leaf or petiole, often in pairs
Sub-opposite
-
leaf arrangement where leaves are not strictly alternate, but are not opposite
Succulent
-
containing fleshy tissue, not woody
Suture
-
rigid, linear division between two parts
T
Terminal
-
occurring at the tip
Terrestrial
-
occurring on land
Toothed
-
having triangular, tooth-like projections along the margin; encompasses the terms serrate, dentate, and crenate
Tuber
-
swollen, underground stem used for storage by certain plants
Tubular
-
similar to a hollow tube
U
Umbel
-
inflorescence in which flower stalks arise from a common point to a flat or convex top
Umbellet
-
subsection of an umbel with its own umbel arrangement; subumbel
V
Venation
-
pattern of veins in leaves
W
Whorled
-
leaf arrangement where three or more leaves emerge from each node
