BOTANICAL TERMS and EXPLANATIONS
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Flower
Sex part used to create seeds.
Flowers and Flower-like Structures:
Achene: A dry type of fruit that contains a single seed; e. g., fruit produced by members of the Aster family.
Anther: Male part of the flower that produces pollen.
Corolla: See petals, below.
Disc flower: Flower of the Aster family characterized by a short tube of fused petals and a pappus of bristles attached to the ovary.
Filament: Stalk-like part of the stamen that supports the anther.
Flower head: A structural unit of several small flowers attached to a receptacle; looks like a single flower, but is a unit of clustered flowers on a common base. e. g., flower head of the Aster family; a sunflower.
Inflorescence: A fancy word for the cluster of flowers or flowering heads on a plant; typically occurs in a characteristic pattern; examples of patterns include: cyme, panicle, raceme, spike, and umble.
Involucral bracts: Small leaf-like structures that occur on the underside of the receptacle; e. g., in the Aster family.
Ovary: Lowermost part of the pistil; contains the developing seed(s) and forms the fruit.
Pappus: A cluster of bristles attached to the upper part of the ovary; may aid in seed dispersal.
Petals: Uppermost, leaf-like structures of a flower that are usually brightly colored; collectively the petals form the corolla. The petals of the corolla may be fused to form a tube or other configuration.
Pistil: Female part of the flower comprised of the ovary, style, and stigma.
Ray flower: Flower of the Aster family characterized by an elongate ribbon-like ray of fused petals and a pappus of bristles above the ovary.
Receptacle: A fleshy structure at the tip of a stem that serves as a support for one or more attached flowers or flowering parts.
Recurved: Concave or "indented" curve, formed by the margins of a leaf, where they join at the tip or the base of the blade.
Sepals: Leaf-like structures located beneath the petals of a flower; collectively the sepals form the calyx, and are usually green. Some species of flowers lack petals, in which case the sepals may be brightly colored and take over the function of the missing petals, e. g.,marsh marigold (Family Ranunculaceae).
Stamen: Male part of the flower comprised of the anther and filament.
Stigma: Uppermost part of the pistil; receives pollen.
Style: Central part of the pistil through which pollen tubes pass; connects the stigma with the ovary.
Leaves:
Attached individually: Leaves that occur singly and independently on the stem; as opposed to leaves that are paired on the stem; same as alternate.
Attached in pairs: Two leaves that are attached across from each other on the stem at the same level; same as opposite.
Axil: The angle, typically acute, formed by the leaf and the stem where they join.
Basal leaves: Leaves that occur on the lower or lowest part of the stem, at or near its base, toward the soil.
Blade: The broad or flat part of a leaf that attaches to the petiole, or, in the absence of a petiole, to the stem.
Compound leaf: A leaf in which the blade is subdivided into several small leaf-like structures, called leaflets, that share a common petiole. The number of leaflets may vary within or between species; for example, a compound leaf may have from 5 - 7 leaflets or from 7 - 9, etc.
Hairs: See under "Stems," below.
Margin: The edge of the leaf, from the tip of the blade to the blade's junction with the petiole.
Lance-shaped or Lanceolate: An elongate leaf that is rounded at one end and pointed at the opposite end; likened to the head of a spear; spear-shaped; also lanceolate; lance-shaped leaves are attached by their rounded ends; ob-lance-shaped leaves are attached by their pointed ends; also oblanceolate.
Leaflet: The part of a compound leaf that resembles an individual leaf blade, and which is one of several similar structures that are attached to a common petiole; also, leaf-like sub-divisions of a compound leaf; the leaflets together make up the blade of a compound leaf.
Ovate: A flattened form that has an egg-like shape. Ovate leaves are attached with their broadly curved end toward the stem.
Palmate compound leaf: A compound leaf in which the leaflets emerge radially from a common point of attachment on the petiole.
Palmate veined: Pattern in which the principal veins of the leaf emerge radially from a common point near the petiole, and there is no dominant central vein.
Parallel veined: Pattern in which the principal veins of the leaf emerge from a common point near the petiole, and extend to the tip of the leaf, while remaining parallel to the edge of the leaf, and to each other.
Petiole: A narrow stalk-like structure that connects the leaf blade to the stem.
Pinnate veined: Pattern in which paired side veins emerge serially, in "V" like fashion from the principal central vein, throughout the length of the leaf.
Simple leaf: A leaf in which the blade is a single unit and not subdivided into leaflets.
Smooth edge: A leaf margin that lacks teeth, and is otherwise uninterrupted.
Teeth: A series of alternating projections and indentations along the margin of a leaf; likened to the cutting edge of a saw; may be coarse, fine, or double, etc.
Veins: Web-like thickenings in the leaf tissue that occur in specific patterns; e. g., pinnate, palmate, parallel.
Winged petiole: A petiole having narrow extensions of the leaf blade that continue along each side of the petiole, from the base of the blade to the stem.
Stems:
Axil: See under "Leaves," above.
Basal leaves: See under "Leaves," above.
Hairs: Small bristle-like extensions of the cuticle of stems and leaves, that vary in texture, size, and density; for example: a stem that is "densely covered with conspicuous, rough, hairs."
Wings: Intermittent, well-spaced, narrow, leaf-like, structures that run longitudinally along the sides of some stems; e. g., nodding thistle. See also winged petioles, under "Leaves," above.
Abbreviations:
" - Inches
' - Feet