GLOSSARY

Achene 

A dry, single seeded, indehiscent fruit (the seed does not open at maturity). E.g. Plants from the Aster Family (Asteraceae) typically produce achenes.

Aculeate 

Prickly (covered in prickles).

Acute

Pointed, to a short sharp apex, with the converging edges forming an angle of less than 90 degrees.

Alternate

Can be used to describe the position of the leaves or flowers, inserted singly at different levels along the branches (commonly used to include spiral arrangement). It can also refer to the arrangement of flower parts and organs (e.g. stamens alternating with petals).

Androecium

The collective name for the male part of the flower.

Angiosperm

Flowering plants; plants with ovules enclosed in an ovary.

Annual

Plants that complete their full life cycle from germination to fruit, within a single year, then they die.

Anther

The part of the stamen in which the pollen is produced.

Apex

The tip or point, furthest away from the  point of attachment.

Arborescent

Resembling a tree; referring to non-woody plants attaining tree height and to shrubs tending to become tree-like in size.

Articulate

Jointed; usually fracturing easily at the nodes or point of articulation into segments or articles.

Attenuate

Tapering or narrowing gradually.

Auricle

Can refer to an ear shaped lobe at the base of a leaf or organ; or an ear-like outgrowth at the base of the sheath of some grasses and other monocots. 

Axil

The upper angle between one part of a plant and another part, e.g. the stem and a leaf.

Axis

The main or central stem of a plant or inflorescence, or the elongated part of the receptacle on which floral organs are situated. 

Barbed

Having barbs pointing in one direction.

Barbellate

Having short, stiff, hair-like bristles (having barbed hairs).

Basal

Growth arising  or attached at the base.

Berry

A fleshy or pulpy indehiscent fruit with one or more seeds embedded in its fleshy tissue.

Biconvex

Convex on both sides.

Biennial

Plants that complete their full life cycle from germination to fruit, within two years, then they die.

Bifoliate

Two-foliate: of a compound leaf, with precisely two leaflets.

Binomial

The naming system for different species, generally in Latin form, comprising of two parts; i.e. the genus, and the species. Example; the binomial name for the plant 'Birds of Paradise' (common name) is Strelitzia (genus) reginae (species).

Bipinnate

Of a compound leaf with individual leaflets pinnately divided.

Bisexual

A flower bearing both fertile anthers and a fertile ovary, the parts of both sexes.

Blade

The lamina or flattened part of a leaf, excluding the stalk or petiole.

Bracts

A type of  modified leaf, associated with a flower or part of an inflorescence. 

Bulb

A storage organ, usually underground, composed of stem and leaf bases.

Bryophyte

Name for seeded, non-vascular plants including mosses, liverworts, and hornworts.

Calyx

Collective term for the sepals on a flower; the outer whorl of a flower, usually green.

Dentate

Having sharp, spreading, and coarse teeth standing out from the margin.

Elliptic

Usually used to describe leaf shape, a 2-dimensional shape; oval in outline.

Falcate

Sickle-shaped, usually used to describe leaf shape.

Geophyte

Plants with an underground storage organ, e.g. a tuber, bulb or rhizome.

Halophyte

Plants adapted to living in highly salinity; a plant that accumulates high concentrations of salt in its tissues. 

Inflorescence

The flower-bearing system of a plant, the grouping or arrangement of flowers on a plant.

Juvenile

Young or immature, used to describe the leaves formed on a young plant which are different in morphology from those formed on an older plant.

Keel

A ridge-like, boast-like structure, usually on the back of an organ.

Lamina

The flattened blade of a leaf or frond. 

Mangrove

Coastal trees or shrubs subject to periodic tidal inundation, rarely occurring in fresh water, often with modified roots.

Native

A plant indigenous to the locality.

Obovate

Generally used to describe leaf shape, a 2-dimensional shape: similar to ovate but attached at the narrower end.

Palmate

Describing a leaf which is divided into several leaflets which arise from the same point, like  we see in our cabbage patch palm tree (Livistona australis).

Quadrate

More or less square in shape.

Rhizome

A creeping stem, usually below ground growing horizontally, consisting of a series of nodes and internodes with adventitious roots. 

Segment

A free or almost free part or subdivision of an organ. (For example; the calyx and corolla segments of a flower are called sepals and petals.)

Taproot

The main, descending root of a plant that has a single, dominant root system. 

Umbel

Used to describe an inflorescence in which the pedicels originate from one point on top of the peduncle and are usually of equal length, resembling an umbrella-like structure.

Vascular Plants

Plants containing vascular tissue; the more highly evolved plants above mosses and liverworts.

Weed

A plant growing out of place or where it is not wanted; often characterized by high seed production and their ability to colonise disturbed ground quickly.

Xylem

A particular water-conducting tissue in vascular plants.

Zonate

Having light and dark circular bands or rings, typically on leaves or flowers.

Zygote

Fertilized egg cell that results from the union of a female gamete (egg, or ovum) and a male gamete (sperm).

Zygomorphic

Of a flower with parts such as sepals and petals differing in shape, size, position and/or number so that the flower can be bisected in one plane only; bilaterally symmetrical.