Glossary
Showing 48 of 248 terms
- Sepals
- The outermost flower structures which usually enclose the other flower parts. This part of the calyx is usually green, but can sometimes be brightly colored. See drawing of flower parts.
- Serrate
- A leaf margin with sharp teeth pointing forward, like a saw.
- Sessile
- Without a stalk. See drawing of leaf attachments.
- Sheath
- The lower part of the grass leaf which wraps around the stem. See drawing of parts of a grass plant.
- Short grass
- A grass that grows less than two feet tall.
- Silicle
- A short, broad, often flat, 2-celled fruit of the Mustard Family. See drawing of fruits.
- Silique
- A long, slender, many-seeded, cylindrical fruit of the Mustard Family. See drawing of fruits.
- Sorus
- A cluster of spore-bearing structures on the undersurface of a fern leaf. Plural sori.
- Spadix
- Fleshy, cylindric spike of small flowers.
- Spathe
- An enlarged leaf-like bract that surrounds or partially encloses an inflorescence.
- Spatulate
- Spoon-shaped. See drawing of leaf shapes.
- Species
- The taxanomic category subordinate to a genus. A group of like individuals. The second part of a scientific name identifies a particular species. (See Genus)
- Spike
- An elongated, unbranched inflorescence with the flowers or spikelets usually stalkless. See drawing of inflorescence types.
- Spikelet
- A unit of inflorescence in grasses. A small group of grass flowers. See drawing of parts of a grass plant.
- Spinose
- Terminating in a rigid, tapering, sharp extension of the primary vein.
- Spore
- Reproductive body capable of developing into a new individual (ferns).
- Squarrose
- Spreading or recurved at the end.
- Stamen
- The male reproductive (pollen-bearing) structure of a flower, composed of the anther and filament.
- Staminate
- A flower or plant that has only stamens. A male plant or flower.
- Staminode
- A sterile stamen.
- Stigma
- The part of the pistil that receives the pollen. See drawing of flower parts.
- Stipitate
- Having a stipe (small stalk).
- Stipule
- Leaflike appendages on either side at the base of the leaf petiole.
- Stolon
- A stem that grows horizontally along the surface of the ground. These above-ground runners take root at the joints or tips, forming new plants. See drawing of parts of a grass plant.
- Striate
- Marked with fine, parallel lines or minute ridges.
- Strigose
- Covered with short, stiff, straight hairs or bristles that are sharply bent at the base and appressed (flatly pressed against the surface). See pubescence drawings.
- Subulate
- Taper from the base to a narrow or sharp point; awl-shaped.
- Subverticillate
- Nearly veticillate.
- Tall grass
- A grass that grows more than four feet tall.
- Taproot
- The main root extending downward.
- Tepals
- Sepals and petals similar in color and form and not readily distinguishable from one another.
- Terete
- Cylindrical and slender.
- Thallus
- Vegetative part of a shoot when not differentiated into stem and leaves.
- Thyrse
- An often slender, elongate, panicle-like inflorescence that consists of few-flowered cymes.
- Tiller
- A lateral shoot on or just under the surface of the ground. A shoot from the base of a plant.
- Tomentose
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Densely covered with short, soft hairs that are matted. Feels "woolly" to the touch. See pubescence drawings.
- Trifoliolate
- Having three leaves or leaflets.
- Truncate
- Ending abrubtly. The end appears cut-off straight across.
- Tuber
- An enlarged underground stem that serves as a food storage organ.
- Tufted
- Many stems growing in clusters which are attached at the base and free at the ends.
- Umbel
- A flat-topped or rounded flower cluster with the flowers on stalks (pedicels) arising from a common point. See drawing of inflorescence types.
- Uncinate
- hooked at the tip or in the form of a hook.
- Utricle
- A dry, indehiscent, one-seeded fruit with a thin pericarp and derived from a simple, superior ovary.
- Verticillaster
- Pairs of opposite cymes arranged in a circle around the stem.
- Verticillate
- Arranged in a circle around the stem, like the spokes of a wheel.
- Villose
- Densely covered with long, soft hairs. Appears "shaggy". See pubescence drawings.
- Weed
- A plant that interferes with the management objectives at a particular location. It is a plant growing where it is not wanted. Under certain situations, the plant may not be totally undesirable.
- Whorl
- Three or more leaves, bracts or flowers attached in a circle or ring at the same point on a stem, like the spokes of a wheel. See drawing of leaf arrangements.