Native Plants
Glossary of commonly used botanical terms and their definitions.
term | definition | image |
Compound leaf | A leaf that is completely separated into two or more leaflets. | |
Compound Pistil | A pistil made up of two or more partially or completely united carpels. | |
Cordate | Heart-shaped, with the point at the apex. | |
Cork | Bark tissue that is harvested for commercial use. | cork.jpg |
Corm | A short, fleshy underground stem, broader than high, producing stems from the base and leaves and flower stems from the top. | |
Corolla | The petals collectively; usually colored or showy. These may be distinct or united to form a cup, trumpet, tube, or two-lipped body. | |
Corymb | A flat-topped or convex flower cluster, with the lower or outer stems longer; the flowers on these stems open first. | |
Crenate | Having rounded teeth along the margin. | |
Culm | The hollow stem of grasses and bamboos. | |
Cuneate | Leaf shape narrowly triangular, wider at the apex and tapering toward the base. | |
Cuspidate | Tipped with a sharp firm point. | |
Cyme | A usually flattish inflorescence in which the central or terminal flower matures first. | |
Deciduous | Having leaves that all fall off at the end of the growing season, or at least wither up and become lifeless. | |
Decumbent | Lying on the ground but having an ascending tip. | |
Deltoid | Triangular. | |
Dentate | Sharply toothed, with the teeth pointing straight out from the margin. | |
Denticulate | Finely toothed. | |
Dioecious | With male and female reproductive structures on separate plants. | |
Disc flowers | The inner tubular flowers on the heads of Asteraceae (Sunflower Family). | |
Distal | Toward the top of a plant or the tip of a plant part. Cf, Proximal. | |
Diurnal | Open during the day and closed at night. | |
Drupe | Fruit with exocarp or skin, fleshy mesocarp and hardened endocarp with seed inside. | |
Elliptic | Shaped like an ellipse, resembling a flattened circle. | |
Emarginate | Having a shallow notch at the tip. | |
EMP | Eastern Mountains and Piedmont - NWPL Region | |
Endangered | An animal or plant species in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. | |
Endemic | Occurring naturally only in a single geographic area. | |
Entire | Said of margins without teeth or lobes. | |
Escape | A cultivated plant that has gone wild. | |
Evergreen | Remaining green and leafy through the winter. | |
FAC | Facultative - Hydrophyte. Occurs in wetlands and non-wetlands. | |
FAC* | Facultative - Hydrophyte. Occurs in wetlands and non-wetlands. Occurs only in the South Pacific Islands subregion. | |
FACU | Facultative Upland - Nonhydrophyte. Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands. | |
FACU* | Facultative Upland - Nonhydrophyte. Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands. Occurs only in the South Pacific Islands subregion. | |
FACW | Facultative Wetland - Hydrophyte. Usually occurs in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands. | |
FACW* | Facultative Wetland - Hydrophyte. Usually occurs in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands. Occurs only in the South Pacific Islands subregion. | |
Falcate | Sickle-shaped. | |
Fascicled | In a tight bundle, several leaves appearing to arise from a common point. | |
Fern | Any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants (pteridophytes) having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores. | |
Fibrous | Network of fine roots with no central dominant root. | |
Filament | Stalk of stamen; bears the anther. | |
Floret | A small flower, especially one in a dense cluster. | |
Florets | Small or reduced flowers. | |
Flower head | A dense arrangement of flowers arising from a common point, as in Apiaceae, or as in Asteraceae where many ray flowers and/or disc flowers make up one "flower head." See also, Capitulum. | |
FNA | Flora of North America. | |
Follicle | Dry, dehiscent fruit. | |
Frond | The leaf of a fern. | |
Fruit | The seed-bearing part of a plant. | |
Genus | A group of related species classified within a family. | |
Glabrous | Smooth; hairless. | |
term | definition | image |