Glossary

Based on Debenham C’s, The Language of Botany, A Publication of The Society for Growing Australian Plants, Chipping Norton NSW, c.1962.

achene: a dry one-seeded fruit with a leathery or membranous skin or shell which remains closed when mature.
acuminate: with the apex acute and tapered to a point.
alternate: of leaves when developed at different levels on opposite side of the stem.
anther: the pollen-producing part of a stamen.
apex: the tip of a leaf, flower part, fruit or stem.
apiculate: of an apex when terminating in a short, flexible tip.
aril: a fleshy outgrowth from the coat of a seed.
auricle: a lobe, especially when at the base of a lamina.
awn: a bristle like structure, as of the floral bracts of many grasses.
barbellate: bearded with a fringe or tuft of bristle-like and hooked hairs.
base: the bottom of a leaf, flower or fruit where it joins its stem or a branch or of a stem where it joins a branch.
bract: of angiosperms, a leaf, usually modified in shape and size, at the base of a pedicel.
bracteole: an accessory bract, e.g. of a peduncle.
caespitose: matted or tufted, as grasses when forming mounds.
campanulate: rounded at the base and gradually enlarged upwardly to the top to resemble the shape of a bell.
capsule: an enclosed membrane fruit with two or more internal spaces which, when mature and dry, splits open to release seeds.
caducous: falling or withering away very soon after development.
carpel: the ovary bearing unit of a flower composed typically of a sterile style and a pollen-receptive stigma.
caruncle: of a seed, a small fleshy outgrowth from the coat.
ciliolate: fringed with fine soft hairs, as the edges of some leaves.
cladode: a more or less flattened expansion of a stem functioning as a leaf and arising from the axil of a much-reduced true leaf.
clavate: of a structure when gradually enlarging or dilating from base to apex to appear like a club.
conduplicate: folded together lengthwise.
cordate: playing card heart shaped with the broad lobes at the base.
coriaceous: or texture when tough and pliable, as a majority of eucalypt leaves.
corolla: the second whorl of sterile appendages of a complete flower, made up of petals.
corymb: a racemose inflorescence with flowers brought more or less to a common level by a shortening or lengthening of the stalks, the lowermost and earliest-formed being outermost and opening first.
crenate: of a leaf edge when indented at regular intervals to appear like the cutting-edge of a saw, but with the teeth rounded.
crenulate: of a leaf edge when indented at regular intervals with very small rounded teeth.
crescentic: a curved shape that has two narrow pointed ends, like the moon when it is less than half of a circle.
cuneate: resembling an isosceles triangle, inverted so that the apex is at the point of attachment.
cupule: a cup like structure, as when formed from enlarged and hardened floral bracts at the base of certain fruits, as the nut of oak (Quercus) where cupule and nut form the acorn.
cypsela: an achene formed from an inferior ovary and usually with a thin, leathery wall. Chiefly of the Compositae, often provided with a parachute-like pappus to aid with wind-dispersal.
dehiscence: of a mature organ, the method of rupturing or opening for the release of contents e.g. spores or seed.
deltate: of a leaf-blade, shaped like an equilateral triangle.
dentate: of a margin when deeply indented at regular intervals to appear like the cutting-edge of a saw, the teeth acute.
depressed: to some degree flattened from above, a little bit sunken in the centre.
dioecious: species having male and female flowers on separate plants.
disc floret: of certain Asteraceae species, Brachyscome, Microseris and Olearia etc., one of the group of inner florets of the head, often tubular and distinct from the outer (peripheral) ray florets.
distichous: arranged in two ranks, as leaves on opposite sides of a stem and in the same vertical plane.
divaricate: forked and/or widely divergent.
drupe: a succulent fruit composed of an outer fleshy layer and an inner stony or hard shell enclosing the seed.
ebracteate: a flower or an inflorescence that lacks bracts.
elliptic: of a leaf-blade usually corresponding to one tapered equally at both ends, broadest in the middle and from 2 to 3 times as long as broad.
emarginate: of an apex when sharply, or shallow and broadly, notched.
entire: an edge free from irregularities.
ebracteate exserted: sticking out; protruding.
filiform: thread like.
fimbriate: bordered by fine hairs or thread-like segments.
floret: in general, a very small flower when a member of a compact inflorescence, especially the capitulum (head) of Asteraceae species.
follicle: a dry and woody capsule containing one or more seeds and splitting open along a single line.
fusiform: of a structure when circular in cross-section, broadest in the middle and tapered evenly to both ends.
glabrous: without hairs or similar covering.
glabrescent: becoming hairless at maturity.
gland: in general a small protuberance. Of a tissue, a single cell or group of cells, a cavity formed by the break-down or spatial movement of cells or the tip of a hair, functioning as a reservoir of certain secretions.
glandular: having small protuberances.
glaucous: of a surface when reflecting a white, pale blue or grey-green colour or sheen given by, e.g., a covering of finely-divided particles of wax or by a structure which disperses (through reflection or refraction) rays of light into certain wavelengths.
gynaecium: the ovule-bearing structure of a flower, made up of one or more carpels.
gynophore: of a flower, an elongated part of the floral stem from which arise the reproductive and sterile units.
gynostemium: of a flower, a column-like structure formed by a fusion of stamens with style(s) and stigma(s). A characteristic feature of the Orchidaceae and Stylidiaceae.
hastate: of a lamina when shaped like a spear or arrow-head but with the basal lobes spreading horizontally.
hermaphrodite: having both male pollen bearing stamens and female carpels with their ovaries connected via the styles to the pollen receiving stigmas
hirsute: of a surface when it has rather coarse and stiff hairs.
hispid: of a surface when with stiff, bristle-like hairs.
hispidulous: somewhat (to some degree) hispid.
hypanthium: a floral cup or tube.
inflorescence: the part of floral shoot where the flowers are segregated as more or less distinct units.
involucre: a whorl or rosette of bracts surrounding an inflorescence (especially a capitulum (flower head) of Asteraceae species) or at the base of an umbel.
keel: of a fabaceae species flower, the two lowermost, usually united, petals.
lamina: a more or less flattened expansion; a blade, as of a leaf or a petal.
lanceolate: of a leaf or petal when broadest at the centre, 3 times or more as long as broad, tapering to the tip and rounded at the base; in the shape of a lance.
lanuginous: with down like i.e., fine and soft, hairs.
limb: of a petal when forming a petiole-like claw, the expanded part or lamina.
locule: a cavity formed by partitioning within a structure, especially an ovary, fruit or anther.
masting: or mast seeding is the simultaneous production of large quantities of seed some years apart by a large number of plants of the same species in the same location, in particular, species which have nuts or fruiting cone.
monoecious: a species which has separate male and female flowers on the same plant.
mucro: a short, hard or flexible point terminating a structure, especially a leaf or petal.
obcordate: playing card heart shaped with the tip at the base.
oblanceolate: lanceolate with the broadest part above the middle.
obovate: elliptical with the broadest part at the top.
obovoid: egg-shaped with the broadest part at the top.
orbicular: of a lamina (e.g. a leaf) when almost circular in shape.
ovate: of a leaf or petal when elliptical in broad outline but with the bottom half broader than the top.
ovoid: of an ellipsoid shape when the basal part is broadest.
ovule the structure of a seed-bearing plant within which ensues the reproductive cycle of the female.
panicle: in general, an inflorescence when branched, often in large loose clusters.
pappus: a tuft of bristles.
pedicel: the stalk of an individual flower of a branched inflorescence normally arising from the axil of a bract, often bearing one or more bracteoles.
peduncle: of an unbranched inflorescence, the stalk of a flower when this is the sole member, or the rachis of flowers when several and sessile.
perennial: persisting for three or more years.
perianth: the single or double whorl of leaf- or bract-like parts of a calyx or corolla. Two whorls may be undifferentiated or a single whorl alone may be present.
persistent: not deciduous or withering away soon after development.
petiole: of a leaf, a part forming an attachment (stalk) of the lamina (blade) with the stem where the origin of the leaf is more or less defined as a swelling, the leaf base.
petiolate: borne with a petiole (as opposed to sessile).
petiolule: of a compound leaf, the stalk of a leaflet.
phyllaries: of the involucre of certain capitula (flower head) of Compositae, the constituent bracts when two or more overlapping rows.
phyllode: a stalk when a more or less flattened expansion and functioning as an entire leaf.
pilose: covered with fine soft hairs.
pinna: (plural pinnae) of a pinnate leaf, a primary leaflet.
pinnate: of a compound leaf when the leaflets grow along a primary spine (rachis) which maybe terminated by a leaflet pair or single leaflet.
pinnatisect: of a leaf approaching the pinniform condition but the divisions from the edges almost or fully reaching the mid-rib without the forming of definite leaflets.
pistillate: of a flower when the only fertile parts are carpels.
, pubescent: covered with short, stiff, silky, down-like hairs.
puberulent: covered with short, very fine and soft hairs.
raceme: a complex flower arrangement where the many individual flowers are supported by short stems along a main stem of indefinite length.
rachis: a primary axis of a flower spike or compound leaf.
ray floret: of Asteraceae, one of the florets of the outermost series of the flower head, commonly strap-like and distinct from the inner disc florets.
recurved: curved or bending backwardly or downwardly.
reniform: of a lamina when its base is shallowly and broadly concave and the margin is continued to form a broadly convex apex, thus resembling in shape the traditionally-depicted kidney.
reticulate: forming a network as in veins of leaves.
rhizomatous: spreading by underground or under water roots.
rugose: with a wrinkled surface. Marked by irregular raised or depressed lines.
scabrous: of a surface when roughened by minute protuberances.
scape: the floral stem or peduncle of an otherwise stemless plant (e,g, a rosette plant) bearing one or more flowers and (usually) scales or bracts.
scarious: of a structure when dry, thin and membranous, usually not green.
schizocarp: a dry fruit that splits into single-seeded parts when ripe.
sessile: of a structure when borne without a support structure part, e.g. the petiole of a leaf, the filament of an anther or the pedicel of a flower etc.
sigmoid: with the shape of the letter S.
spatulate: of a leaf or petal where the tip is broad and rounded, and tapering to the stem or base, somewhat in the form of a spoon or spatula.
staminate: of a flower when its functionally fertile parts are all stamens.
staminode: a sterile stamen-like floral part (of some flowers), sometimes representing a transition to a petal or a rudimentary stamen, in some cases, a nectary.
standard: of a Fabaceae species flower, the uppermost petal, distinct and usually larger than the other petals.
stellate: in general, radiating from a common centre to appear star like.
stigma: of a carpel, the part which carries the pollen receptive stigmatic tissue, frequently continuous with the ovary by a style.
striate: of a surface when marked with longitudinal lines or channels; of venation when the veins are several or numerous, fine, and parallel with the edges.
subtend: to stand below or close under, as a bract subtending a flower.
tendril: a twisting thread-like segment of a leaf or stem functioning for the securing of a hold on a support.
tepal: of a flower, a sepal or a petal.
terete: rounded in cross-section, usually also tapered.
ternate: of leaves when arising in threes from the same node.
tessellated: checkered, marked in a pattern of squares or rectangular shapes.
tomentose: covered with matted hair.
trifoliate: a compound leaf with three leaflets.
trichomes: a general term for an outgrowth from an epidermis, a hair or scale which may be unicellular or multicellular, branched or unbranched, secretory, absorbing or non-functional.
tuberculate: bearing small swellings or rounded protuberances, or nodules.
umbel: a simple raceme with internodes of the peduncle so reduced that the secondary axes (pedicels) appear to arise from the apex.
viscid: sticky.
villous: covered with long soft hairs.