Most of these words are from Aroideana #19.
-aceae: New Latin suffix, meaning "the plants of the nature of," which is used to form names of families of plants. Examples are: Araceae, Liliaceae, Rosaceae, etc.
acuminate: Tapers toward the end into a long point.
aesthetics: Of or concerning the appreciation of beauty or good taste
allopatirically: Occurring in separate, nonoverlapping geographic areas. Often used for populations of related organisms unable to crossbreed because of geographic separation.
apex: The tip.
appendix: An appendage or extra growth.
apiculate: Ending abruptly with a sharp, flexible tip.
anaerobic: Applying to metabolism in the cells of the body, or to micro-organisms, this means functioning without oxygen
angiospermous: Having seeds enclosed in a seed vessel, for example, this refers to the poppy, the rose, and most flowering plants, opposed to gymnospermous, or naked-seeded.
anubias: semi-aquatic plants in the aroid family, native to Africa; sometimes planted in freshwater aquariums
annulate: Annular: shaped like a ring.
anther: The part of a stamen that produces pollen, usually located at the end of a thin stalk in the center of a flower.
anthesis: The period during which a flower opens or the act of a flower opening; coming to full bloom.
auriculate: Small ear-like projections.
axillary: Growing from an axil. (The angle formed between a leaf stalk and the stem to which it is attached).
basal: Refers to the base or lowest level.
bilabiate: Having two lips, as the corollas of the snapdragons.
bilocular: Divided into or containing two chambers.
binomial: Consisting of or relating to two names or terms.
biogeography: The study of the distribution of plants and animals across the Earth.
bract: A small, sometimes scale-like leaf, usually associated with flower clusters.
bulbil: Tiny bulbs that form in the leaf axil either on a stem or flower.
bulbul: Species of bird that feed on the fruit of Amorphophallus
calcareous: Contains calcium carbonate.
calyx: The outer part of a flower, usually consisting of green, leafy sepals.
campanulate: Bell-shaped.
capitate: Head-like or dense cluster.
corolla: the whorl of petals of a flower that collectively form an inner floral envelope or layer
cataphylls: A reduced or scarcely developed leaf at the start of a plant's life (i.e., cotyledons) or in the early stages of leaf development. In cycads, a scale-like modified leaf which protects the developing true leaves.
caudate: Having a tail-like appendage; a "tail" or narrowed sepals and petals., apical extension of some type.
circumscribed: Subject to limits or subjected to limits
C.I.T.E.S: The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is an international agreement between Governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
confluent: Flowing together.
congener: A member of the same species or genus.
conical: Cone-shaped.
convolute: Having or full of wrinkles; corrugated; ridged.
corm: A bulblike but solid, fleshy underground stem base.
coriaceous: Having a leathery texture.
corrugate: To shape into folds or parallel and alternating ridges and grooves.
cryptocoryne: water trumpet; aquatic herbs having broad leaves and long slender spathes; often used as aquarium plants
cultivar: A plant selected for certain characteristics that may have either been found in wild populations or, more oftern, created by hybridization.
cymbiform: Boat-shaped (spelled cymbiaform in Aroideana #19).
cytology: The study of cells.
damping off: Soil borne fungal pathogen which attacks the stems of small seedlings at soil level.
decurrent: Leaves whose edges run down onto the stem.
deciduous: Referring to trees that lose their leaves at the end of the growing season.
desiccate: To lose or cause to lose moisture.
desiccated Dried out.
dipterocarp: Two-winged seed.
distal: In the area farthest from the center of the body.
diffuse: Spread out; not concentrated in one place.
disciform: Flat and rounded in shape; discoid.
dorsal: Referring to the back or upper side of an organism (a shark’s dorsal fin is on top or on its upper side).
dormancy: The time when a plant has naturally stopped growing and the leaves have fallen or the top growth has died down.
eccentric: With an unusual or odd personality, odd or different.
echinulate: Covered with small spines.
elliptic: Broadening at or about the center and narrowing equally toward each end.
elongate: A long, thinner tuber.
embryo: a tiny rudimentary plant contained within a seed.
endemic: Native to, naturally restricted to, or found only in a particular area or region.
endosperm: The nutritive tissue within seeds of flowering
plants, surrounding and absorbed by the embryo.
epiphyllar bulbil: A bulbil that develops on the surface of the branching point of a leaf, i.e., A. muelleri and A. bulbifer.
exine: Outer covering of pollen grains, often containing sporopollenin.
ex-situ: "Off-site" away from the plant's habitat. see in-situ
faveolate: To grow long hair and be on the cover of romance novels...just kidding.of a surface, honeycombed.
fusiform: Tapering toward both ends like a spindle, as the radish. Also, fusate.
glabrous: Hairless; smooth. Also glabrate.
globose: Spherical, or nearly so.
glocuous: Having barbed hair or spine.
gynospermous: A plant, such as a cycad or conifer, whose seeds are not enclosed within an ovary.
haploid: Having the number of chromosomes characteristic of the germ cells, or half the number present in the body cells.
hardening off: The gradual process of acclimating plants started indoors to outside conditions. Setting them in a sheltered location outdoors for increasing lengths of time over a period of days is said to be hardening off the plants. If the plants are just set outside without getting used to the different atmospheres, they will most likely suffer.
hardiness zone zones: Areas classified by climate and temperature range for the purpose of determining which plants can be grown where. The U.S. is divided into eleven zones. One is the coldest and eleven is the warmest. Plants living in zones one through four are considered vary hardy; those in zones 5-7 are hardy; those in zones 8-9 are fairly hardy; those in zone 10 are said to be very tender, which means most will not survive freezing; zone 11 is frost-free since it consists of subtropical or tropical regions. The zones are classified by their average low temperature. Zone 1 has an average low temperature of -50º F. Zone 2 = -50º to -40º; zone 3 = -40º to -30º; zone 4 = -30º to -20º; zone 5 - -20º to -10º; zone 6 = -10º to 0º; zone 7 = 0º to 10º; zone 8 = 10º to 20º; zone 9 = 20º to 30º; zone 10 = 30º to 40º; zone 11 = no lower that 40º. Europe Hardiness Zones Link
heat mat: A low-voltage heater used to warm soil during seed germination, seedling development, and root growth of cuttings.
helically: Forming a spiral. (The shape of a coil).
hemispheric: (campanulate) Bell-shaped.
Heterogeneous: consisting of elements that are not of the same kind or nature
holotype: The single specimen or illustration designated as the type for naming a species or subspecies or used as the basis for naming a species or subspecies when no type has been selected. Also called type.
homogeneous: All of the same or similar kind or nature. When items or entities in a group are similar. Opposite of heterogeneous.
humidity: Wetness in the atmosphere
indiginous: Originating where it is found.
inflorescence: A group of flowers borne on a single axis (stem). Examples are: umbel, spike, panicle, corymb, and so on.
infructescence: The fruiting stage of a plant.
in-situ: In-situ is the Latin term for "in the original place." see ex-situ
intercallary bulbil: A bulbil which is formed when the entire branching joint of a leaf transforms into a bulbil.
internodes: The spaces between branches on a trunk or petiole.
irridescent: a shiny, rainbow-colored tint produced by the bending (reflection) of light (looks like oil or gas spilled on water
ladangs: Rice fields.
lamina: A thin plate or scale. Specifically, the blade or expanded part of a leaf or petal.
lanceolate: Long and thin and broadest below the middle, tapering to a point like a lance; lance-shaped.
loam: A good mixture of clay/silt/sand particles, organic matter and moisture.
lobed: Leaves which have one or more indentations.
locule: A small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an animal or plant, as any of the cavities within a plant ovary.
longitudinally: Channeled or grooved.
mucronate: Ending with a short, sharp tip, resembling a spine.
myosurid: Like or similar to a myosote--with small mouse-eared flowers, like the forget-me-not.
napiform: Turnip-shaped: round at the top and tapering down sharply at the bottom.
nematodes: The most numerous multicellular animals on earth. A handful of soil will contain thousands of these microscopic worms, many of them parasites of insects, plants or animals. Free-living species are abundant, including nematodes that feed on bacteria, fungi, and other nematodes, yet the vast majority of species encountered are poorly understood biologically. There are nearly 20,000 described species classified in the phylum Nemata.
neutral: With a pH value of 7, the point at which the soil is neither acid nor alkaline.
node: The place where a leaf grows or can grow.
nomenclature: The system of naming things, e.g., plants.
obcordate: A cordate attached at the unlobed end, so that the apex is notched.
obliquely: Toward or at one side.
obtuse: Blunt or rounded at the extremity, as an obtuse leaf, sepal, or petal.
osmophores: Pseudocopulation is a method of attracting pollinators via sexual stimulation. Some flowers mimic a potential mate visually. Some orchids secrete smells, from glands called osmophores located in the sepals petals, or labellum, that are indistinguishable from the insect's natural pheromones, even in some cases exaggerating them to suggest better mating results within the pollinator's species, assuring its own survival through assisting the welfare of the pollinating insect.
ovary: The ovule-bearing lower part of a pistil that ripens into a fruit.
ovate: Shaped like an egg, with the narrow end at the apex.
parasite: An animal or plant that lives in or on a host (another animal or plant); it obtains nourishment from the host without benefiting or killing the host
papillae: A minute projection on the surface of a stigma, petal, or leaf.
peduncle: A botanical term used to describe the stalk of a single flower or plant.
petiole: The stalk of a leaf.
petiolulate: With a leaflet stalk or petiolule. (Compare with nearly sessile, petiolate, and sessile).
phyllogenetic: Concerned with or relating to the development of leaves.
phytosanitary certificate: The intended purpose of the export certificates is to expedite the entry of plants or plant products into a foreign country. In the case of Federal Phytosanitary Certificates, they certify to the foreign plant protection service that the shipment has been inspected and was found to conform to the phytosanitary import requirements of that country. In addition, they attest that the shipment is free from quarantine plant pests and pathogens and is practically free from other injurious pests.
pinnate: Resembling a feather in structure with the parts arranged on both sides of an axis; a compound leaf in which the leaflets grow in a row on each side of the midrib.
pistillode: A rudimentary or vestigial pistil.
plicate: Pleat: fold into pleats.
posterior: The end or butt.
pstilate: A term used to describe the pollen surface, lacking sculpturing.
rachis: That portion of an inflorescence, above the peduncle, bearing flowers.
rancid: A horrible taste or smell. (A. titanum has a rancid odor during its flowering period).
reflexed: Curving or bent backwards.
reticulate: Forming a network (an interconnected system).
rhizomatous: A horizontal, usually underground stem that often sends out roots and shoots from its nodes.
rhizomes: Rootstalk.
rugulose: Having or full of wrinkles; corrugated; ridged.
sapling: Young tree.
seasonal: Of or dependent on a particular season.
seed: The ovules of flowering plants (except those of gymnosperms such as Pines) are contained within an ovary. Pollen grains come in contact with the stigma, germinate and send down long tubes through the style into the ovary. These pollen tubes contain nuclei which fuse with the nuclei of the ovules and fertilization is effected. The ovules then form seeds. Seeds consist of a seed coat (testa), two seed leaves (cotyledons) or one seed leaf, and the embryo plant. The embryo consists of a root and a shoot. At the end of the seed is a scar (hilum), where the seed was attached to the pod. Near this scar is a microscopic hole (micropyle) where the pollen tube entered to fertilize the ovule and through which the root emerges when germination takes place.
seedling: A young plant grown from seed.
self fertile/self pollinate: A plant's ability to fertilize its pistils with its own pollen.
sessile: Leaves and other plant parts that have no stalk, but instead grow directly from the stem of the plant.
sigmoid: Having the shape of the letter "s."
sinuous: Repeatedly curving in alternate directions.snakelike.
spadix: The fleshy spike usually enclosed in a spathe. The central columns in the "flowers" (inflorescences) of calla lilies, jack-in-the-pulpits, Amorphophallus, etc.
sphagnum: A bog moss which is collected and composted. Most peat moss is composed primarily of sphagnum moss. This moss is also packaged and sold in a fresh state, and used for lining hanging baskets and air layering.
spathe: One, or sometimes two, large bracts , which grow near the base or surround a flower cluster or individual bud. Examples are the calla lily (Zantedeschia), jack-in-the-pulpit, and anthurium.
species: A category in plant classification, the rank below genus, containing closely related, very similar individual plants. Species are ordinarily grouped to form genera. The following are examples of species within a genus (group). Sequoia (redwood tree) is the genus name and the species (or varieties) that belong to that group are sempervirens, gracilis, pendula, etc. These are written along with "Sequoia." (Sequoia sempervirens is one species, Sequoia gracilis is another, and so on.).
stamen: The male floral organ, bearing the anther, which produces pollen.
staminode: A sterile stamen.
subglobus: nearly but not completely spherical.
substrate: The medium on which an organism lives, as soil or rock.
subterraneous: (subterranean) Being or lying under the surface of the earth; situated within the earth, or underground.
sulfur: an abundant tasteless odorless multivalent nonmetallic element
synchronous: Occurring at the same time.
taxonomy: The classification of organisms
in an ordered system that indicates natural relationships.
temik: An at-planting application of pestiside that not only knocks out nematodes, but controls thrips, aphids, spider mites, lygus, fleahoppers and leafminers as well. Can only be gotten with proper licensing.
terete: Pencil-like; round in cross-section; cylindrical, but usually tapering at both ends, such as a terete seedpod.
transverse: Extending or lying across; in a crosswise direction.
tuber:An underground stem which has been modified for storage of nutrients, such as a potato.
turgid: The condition of a cell, tissue or plant when it is filled with water so that it is firm; not wilted.
truncate: With an abruptly transverse end, as if cut off.
undulate: Either the leaf margin or the entire leaf is wavy.
urceolate: Urn-shaped. Large below and contracted toward the mouth. (Like a large bottle with a narrow mouth).
variegation: Having one leaf or flower that contains different colors.
vegetative: Plant parts and processes concerning growth and nutrition and not reproduction.
ventral: Referring to the underside.
verrucate: Bulb like.
verrucose: With a warty or bumpy surface.
vicariant: Refers to species that occupy similar ecological niches but in geographic isolation from each other. Implies a phylogenetic relationship existing between the two species.
viscous: Having relatively high resistance to flow. Thick fluid, slow flowing.
Next read First Division explained and Bornean species by Peter Boyce.
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