Plant Terminology - 123 Basic Terms On Stems, Leaves, Flowers, And Fruits

Front 1

actinomorphic

Back 1

individual parts of whorl are alike; type of radial symmetry

Front 2

alternate

Back 2

arrangement with only one leaf inserted at a node

Front 3

anther

Back 3

pollen producing part of the flower

Front 4

anthesis

Back 4

when flower parts are open and receptive to pollination

Front 5

apex

Back 5

the tip, for example, for a leaf, the farthest region from the petiole

Front 6

banner

Back 6

upper petal of Faboideae in the family Fabaceae

Front 7

base

Back 7

the bottom end, for example, for a leaf blade, the region nearest the petiole

Front 8

bilabiate

Back 8

with two lip-like lobes

Front 9

bipinnate

Back 9

twice pinnate, i.e., a decompound leaf with primary divisions divided again

Front 10

bract

Back 10

a modified leaf near a flower (think of a poinsettia or a bougainvillea)

Front 11

calyx

Back 11

outer series of the floral envelope

Front 12

canescent

Back 12

surface white or gray short hairs

Front 13

carpel

Back 13

part of pistil from one sporophyll; usually the highest number of the stigma lobes, styles, and locules

Front 14

cleft

Back 14

cut or split about half-way to the middle or base

Front 15

column

Back 15

united filaments in Malvaceae or coalesced style and filaments in Orchidaceae

Front 16

complete

Back 16

flower has sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils

Front 17

compound

Back 17

leaf completely divided into two or more distinct segments (leaflets)

Front 18

cordate

Back 18

heart-shaped, with the notch at the base

Front 19

corolla

Back 19

inner series of the floral envelope

Front 20

cyathium

Back 20

inflorescence in Euphorbia with unisexual flowers in a cup-shaped involucre

Front 21

cyme

Back 21

branched inflorescence in which terminal flower blooms first which makes it determinate

Front 22

deciduous

Back 22

plant with leaves that fall at the end of the growing season

Front 23

disc flower

Back 23

regular tubular flowers of Asteraceae

Front 24

dissected

Back 24

deeply divided into many narrow segments

Front 25

elliptical

Back 25

a narrow oval, widest at the middle and the ends equally narrow

Front 26

entire

Back 26

continuous leaf margin, not toothed or lobed

Front 27

evergreen

Back 27

bearing green leaves throughout the year

Front 28

filament

Back 28

stalk that supports the anther

Front 29

floret

Back 29

small flower in a cluster; in Poaceae a specialized structure containing flower; in Asteraceae, in a head

Front 30

glabrous

Back 30

surface smooth, hairless

Front 31

glaucous

Back 31

surface covered with a whitish or bluish waxy coating

Front 32

head

Back 32

dense cluster of sessile or subsessile flowers

Front 33

imperfect

Back 33

unisexual, a flower with only male (staminate) or female (pistillate) parts

Front 34

inferior

Back 34

the perianth arises above the ovary (epigynous flower)

Front 35

keel

Back 35

fused lower petals of Faboideae in the family Fabaceae

Front 36

lanceolate

Back 36

lance-shaped; much longer than wide, attached at the wide end

Front 37

leaflet

Back 37

a division of a compound leaf

Front 38

linear

Back 38

narrow, flat shape with parallel sides, at least 4 times longer than wide

Front 39

locule

Back 39

cell or compartment of ovary filled with ovules

Front 40

margin

Back 40

the edge or outline or profile of a leaf blade

Front 41

midrib

Back 41

the central rib of a leaf

Front 42

netted veined

Back 42

leaf veins interconnected to form a net (reticulate)

Front 43

oblanceolate

Back 43

inversely lance-shaped, attached at the narrow end

Front 44

oblong

Back 44

two to four times longer than broad with nearly parallel sides

Front 45

obovate

Back 45

inversely egg-shaped in outline, attached at the narrow end

Front 46

opposite

Back 46

arrangement with two leaves inserted opposite each other on the stem

Front 47

ovary

Back 47

contains the ovules and forms a fruit

Front 48

ovate

Back 48

egg-shaped in outline and attached at the wide end

Front 49

ovule

Back 49

structure that develops into the seed

Front 50

palmate

Back 50

lobed, veined, or divided (palmately compound) from a common point, like the fingers of a hand

Front 51

panicle

Back 51

branched inflorescence with flowers maturing from the bottom which makes it indeterminate

Front 52

pappus

Back 52

modified calyx of Asteraceae, awns, scales, or bristles for dispersal by wind or in the fur of animals

Front 53

parallel veined

Back 53

leaf veins small, generally parallel, all about the same size except the central vein

Front 54

pedicel

Back 54

the stalk to an individual flower in an inflorescence

Front 55

peduncle

Back 55

the stalk to an inflorescence or a solitary flower

Front 56

perfect

Back 56

bisexual, a flower with male and female parts

Front 57

petals

Back 57

one of the individual parts of the corolla

Front 58

petiole

Back 58

leaf stalk

Front 59

phyllary

Back 59

bract in the involucre of Asteraceae

Front 60

pinna (pinnae)

Back 60

a primary division of a pinnate or bipinnate leaf

Front 61

pinnate

Back 61

compound leaf with leaflets on a rachis (may be odd pinnate or even pinnate)

Front 62

pistil

Back 62

seed producing organ; ovary plus style (if present) plus stigma

Front 63

pollen

Back 63

male spores

Front 64

pubescent

Back 64

surface covered with hairs, especially short, soft hairs

Front 65

raceme

Back 65

inflorescence with a single unbranched axis with flowers on pedicels, maturing from the bottom

Front 66

rachis

Back 66

central axis of a compound leaf or of an inflorescence

Front 67

ray flower

Back 67

strap-like portion of a ligulate flower, e.g., in Asteraceae

Front 68

receptacle

Back 68

flattened disc in Asteraceae on which flowers are born

Front 69

rosette

Back 69

dense radiating cluster of leaves usually at or near ground level

Front 70

seed

Back 70

mature ovule with embryo, coat, food supply, e.g., endosperm; “seed” also a unit of dispersal, e.g., bur

Front 71

sepals

Back 71

one of the individual parts of the calyx

Front 72

serrate

Back 72

toothed along the margin with minute, sharp, forward-pointing teeth

Front 73

simple

Back 73

leaf which is one undivided segment (may be lobed)

Front 74

spadix

Back 74

spike with small flowers crowded on a thickened axis, e.g., Araceae

Front 75

spathe

Back 75

large bract sheathing of enclosing an inflorescence, e.g., Araceae

Front 76

spike

Back 76

inflorescence with a single unbranched axis with flowers sessile, maturing from the bottom

Front 77

spikelet

Back 77

basic inflorescence unit of Poaceae; has two glumes and one or more florets

Front 78

stamen

Back 78

anther plus filament

Front 79

stigma

Back 79

part of the pistil that receives the pollen

Front 80

stipules

Back 80

pair of appendages at the base of the petiole or leaf

Front 81

strigose

Back 81

surface covered with stiff, appressed hairs

Front 82

style

Back 82

stalk-like part of the pistil connecting the ovary and the stigma

Front 83

superior

Back 83

the perianth arises from below the ovary (hypogynous flower)

Front 84

sympetalous

Back 84

petals united at least at the base (opposite of gamopetalous)

Front 85

tendril

Back 85

a slender, often coiling organ of support

Front 86

tepals

Back 86

part of the perianth that is not distinguished as petals or sepals, e.g., in Liliaceae

Front 87

tomentose

Back 87

surface covered with tangled, wool-like hairs

Front 88

whorled

Back 88

arrangement with three or more leaves arising at a node

Front 89

zygomorphic

Back 89

irregular flower; parts of one whorl not alike; may be bilaterally symmetrical

Front 90

bud

Back 90

the rudimentary unexpanded state of a stem, leaf, or flower

Front 91

flower

Back 91

the reproductive organ of a plant, specifically of monocots and dicots

Front 92

inflorescence

Back 92

a group of flowers attached together on a plant

Front 93

leaf

Back 93

generally green, flattened photosynthetic organ of a plan which generally does not produce buds or stems

Front 94

root

Back 94

descending axis of a plant primarily used to absorb water and nutrients from ground and provide support

Front 95

stem

Back 95

the main body or supportive structure of a plant that can produce roots, stems, leaves, and flowers

Front 96

blade

Back 96

the main expanded flat portion of a leaf (in contrast to petiole and stipules)

Front 97

crenate

Back 97

toothed along the margin with but not sharply toothed

Front 98

androecium

Back 98

the male reproductive parts of a flower

Front 99

gynoecium

Back 99

the female reproductive parts of a flower

Front 100

perianth

Back 100

the non-reproductive portion of a flower that contains calyx and corolla

Front 101

achene

Back 101

dry, one-seeded indehiscent fruit with seed attached to ovary wall at one point (e.g., sunflower)

Front 102

berry

Back 102

fleshy fruit from a single pistil with often many seeds (e.g., tomato)

Front 103

caryopsis

Back 103

dry, one-seeded indehiscent fruit with seed coat fused to pericarp (e.g., wheat)

Front 104

dehiscence

Back 104

opening by definite pores or slits to discharge the contents

Front 105

drupe

Back 105

fleshy, indehiscent fruit with a stony endocarp and usually one seed (e.g., peach)

Front 106

legume

Back 106

fruit dry, dehiscent, with usually several to many seeds in a single cell and one line of dehiscence

Front 107

samara

Back 107

fruit dry at maturity, indehiscent, winged

Front 108

rhizome

Back 108

a horizontal stem that grows underground

Front 109

stolon

Back 109

a horizontal stem that grows aboveground

Front 110

aquatic plant

Back 110

plant that normally grows in water

Front 111

groundcover

Back 111

plant that normally grows close to the ground or that is managed to cover an area

Front 112

herb

Back 112

plant with no woody stem and not a palm

Front 113

palm

Back 113

plant in the palm family, Arecaceae, not a true tree

Front 114

shrub

Back 114

medium sized woody plant typically less than 3 m tall and/or with many main stems often spreading

Front 115

tree

Back 115

large woody plant typically at least 3 m tall and/or with one or a few main trunks

Front 116

turfgrass

Back 116

plant in the grass family, Poaceae, that is mowed to make a groundcover

Front 117

vine

Back 117

plant that climbs or scrambles and cannot normally support itself

Front 118

woody plant

Back 118

plant with a hard stem due to secondary xylem produced by vascular cambium and bark on the outside

Front 119

basal

Back 119

arrangement of leaves arising from the base of the plant

Front 120

distichous

Back 120

arrangement of leaves in two vertical rows

Front 121

spiral

Back 121

arrangement of leaves not in vertical rows but spiralling up the stem

Front 122

costapalmate

Back 122

leaf in some palmate leaved palms in which there is a definite midrib or petiole extension causing a curving

Front 123

trifoliolate (trifoliate)

Back 123

a compound leaf divided into three segments