A

Abaxial: The side away from the axis. Compare Adaxial.

Abrupt: To terminate suddenly. Compare with Truncate.

Achene: A small, dry, single-seeded fruit with a thin wall not prone to splitting (indehiscent).

Achlorophyllous: Lacking chlorophyll as in plants or plant structures that are not green.

Acidic: Material that has a pH of less than 7.0.

Actinomorphic: Radially symmetrical, so that, when a line that is drawn through the middle of the structure along any plane, it will produce a mirror image on either side.

Acrid: A sharp, bitter, or biting taste.

Acuminate: Tapering gradually to a long slender point.

Acute: Tapering to a pointed apex and having more or less straight sides.

Adaxial: The side facing towards the axis.

Adherent: When unlike parts stick together as in the anthers to the style. The attachment is not as firm or solid as the term Adnate.

Adnate: The fusion of unlike parts as when the stamens are fused to the corolla.

Aduncate: Hooked at the end.

Adventitious: Structures or organs that are developing in an unusual position, as when roots originate on the stem.

Aggregate: To be densely clustered.

Aggregate fruit: A term usually applied to a cluster or group of small fleshy fruits that originate from a number of separate pistils in a single flower, as in the clustered druplets of the raspberry.

Alkaline: Material that is basic rather than acidic; having a pH of greater than 7.0

Alternate: Situated singly on a stem or placed regularly between organs of a different type (i.e., stamens alternate with sepals, or position of leaves on a stem).

Ament: A dense raceme or spike inflorescence bearing small, naked or apetalous unisexual flowers, like those of Salicaceae or Betulaceae. Also called a Catkin.

Androecium: All stamens in a flower collectively.

Androgynous: With both staminate and pistilate flowers, where the staminate flowers are borne above the pistilate as in the inflorescences of some Carex (sedge) species.

Angiosperm: A plant that produces flowers and bearing seeds (ovules) in a fruit (ovary).

Annual: A plant that germinates from seed, flowers, sets seed, and dies all in the same growing season.

Anterior: To be in front, or on the side away from the axis, as with the lower lip of a bilabiate corolla of a Penstemon (Beardtongue) flower.

Anther: The expanded, apical, pollen bearing portion of the stamen.

Anthesis: When the flower is fully expanded and functioning in its flowering period.

Apetalous: Having no petals.

Apex (Plural: Apices): The tip, or the point that is farthest from the point of attachment.

Aphyllopodic: The lowest leaves that are reduced and scale-like, with the first true blades appearing well above the base of the plant.

Apical: Located at the tip or the apex.

Appressed: To be pressed close or flat against that of another organ.

Approximate: Borne close together, but are not fused.

Areolae: Small, defined areas on the surface.

Articulate: Jointed, with the joint being the ultimate point of separation.

Ascending: To grow obliquely upward, where growth is usually curved at the base from the crown. 

Asexual: To reproduce without male-female sexual union.

Asymmetrical: Not able to be divisible into equal halves as in some leaves; irregular in shape.

Auricle: An appendage that is small and ear-shaped such as those at the base of a leaf.

Awl-shaped: Tapering gradually from the base to a rigid slender point.

Awn: A bristle-like narrow, usually terminal appendage that appears usually at the tip.

Awned: Bearing an awn.

Axil: The point formed between the upper angle of a stem and any part that arises from it, usually with leaves.

Axillary: Situated in or arising from the axil.

Axis: The central supporting, longitudinal structure or line around which various organs are borne, such as with a stem bearing leaves.

B

Balsam: A fragrant, sticky exudate from any tree species. 

Banded: Striped.

Banner: The upper and often largest petal of a papilionaceous flower, as in the pea flower.

Barbed: Bearing short, stiff, pointed, bristly, reflexed points or hairs, like that of a fish hook.

Bark: The outermost layers of a woody trunk or stem which includes all the living and non-living tissues external to the cambium.

Basal: Positioned at or arising from the base, like with leaves arising from the base of the stem or crown. 

Beak: Narrow or elongated tip, as with on some fruits and seeds.

Berry: A fleshy or pulpy fruit that was formed from a single pistil, with one to many seeds; a fleshy ovary wall and a thin outer skin, and often lacking a pit or core.

Bidentate: Cleft with two teeth.

Biennial: Plants that complete their lifecycle in two years, usually only forming vegetatively in the first year, and then flowering and fruiting the second year.

Bilabiate: Two-lipped, as with irregular flowers (applied to perianth segments).

Blade: The broad, flat part of a leaf or petal.

Bract: A reduced or modified leaf or leaf-like structure (or scale) at the base of a flower or inflorescence, or also a flower cluster.

Bracteole: A small bract, usually secondary in nature; a bractlet.

Bractlet: See Bracteole.

Bud: An under-developed leaf, stem, or flower, with vegetative buds often covered by small modified leaves.

Bud scales: Scale-like modified leaves that cover a bud.

Bulb: An underground bud that is often short and thick and covered by fleshy modified leaves or leaf bases that function as food storage organs.

Bulbil: A small, new bulb that arises beside a parent bulb.

Bulblet: A small bulb; a bulb-like structure that is borne above ground usually in a leaf axil or which sometimes replaces flowers, functioning like it is a vegetative reproductive structure.

Bur (or Burr): A structure that is often armed with hooked or barbed spines or appendages.

C

Caespitose: Plants which are densely tufted.

Calcareous: Lime-rich (with calcium carbonate).

Calyx: The collective term for all of the sepals of a flower. 

Cambium: Tissue composed of cells that are capable of active cell division, producing xylem to the inside and phloem to the outside of a woody plant. Also, a lateral meristem.

Capillary: Very fine and hair-like.

Capsule: A dry, dehiscent fruit that is composed of more than one carpel.

Carinate: Keeled.

Cariopsis: See Caryopsis.

Carpel: The fertile, female reproductive organ of a flower or angiosperm that contains the stigma, style, and ovary. Pistils are composed of one to several carpels. It is also defined as a simple pistil that is formed from one modified leaf.

Caryopsis: A dry, one-seeded indehiscent fruit with the seed coat being fused to the pericarp. This is the fruit of all members of the Graminaceae Family (grasses), and also called a grain.

Catkin:  Another term for Ament, which is a dense raceme or spike inflorescence bearing small, naked or apetalous unisexual flowers, as in the catkins of Salicaceae or Betulaceae.

Caudex: A short, persistent and often woody base of a herbaceous perennial that is found at or just below the soil surface. It produces new growth annually, and often is found at the top of a rhizome or taproot.

Caulescent: Obvious leafy stem rising from above the ground.

Cauline: On, of, or pertaining to the stem. 

Chaff: Thin, dry scales or bracts, like the bracts on the receptacles of flower heads of the Asteraceae family (Aster family).

Ciliate: Fringed margins containing tiny hairs.

Clasping (leaves): Where the base wholly or partly surrounds the stem.

Claw: The narrowed, stalk-like base of some petals or sepals.

Cleft: Divided, cut, or split down to nearly the middle or base.

Cleistogamous (flower): Self-fertilizing and setting seed without opening.

Climbing: Growing more or less erect by leaning or twining on another structure or plant for support.

Clone: A group of individuals originating from a single parent plant by way of vegetative (asexual) reproduction.

Climax (plants): The original, stable vegetative community  that develops throughout time on a specific soil and in a specific climate.

Collar: The area on the outside of a grass leaf at the junction of the blade and sheath.

Colonial: Forming of colonies: usually in reference to groups of plants connected to one another by underground organs (rhizomes).

Complete (flowers): Having all of the parts that typically belong to it present, as a flower with sepals, petals (calyx and corolla), pistils and stamens (the functional male and female organs: androecium and gynoecium).

Compound leaf: A leaf that is separated into two or more distinct leaflets.

Cone: A dense cluster of sporophylls or ovuliferous scales that are clustered on an axis.

Conical: Cone-shaped.

Connate: The fusion of like parts, where they have grown together or are attached together.

Connective: The part of the stamen that connects two pollen sacs of an anther together.

Connivent: Converging, but organs are not actually united or fused. 

Constricted: Drawn together or narrowed.

Continuous (collar): Extending from one sheath margin to another.

Cordate: Heart-shaped, with the notch at the base and the apex rounded.

Corm: A short, thickened, vertical underground stem with thin, papery leaves that functions in food storage. The corm is more solid and does not have thickened leaves like in bulbs.

Corolla: The collective term for all the petals of a flower; also, the perianth whorl.

Corona: Crown- or petal-like structures between the petals and stamens in some flowers. 

Corymb: A round- or flat-topped inflorescence with the lower pedicels longer than the upper, and the lower flowers tending to bloom first.

Corymbose: Flowers that are arranged in a corymb. 

Cotyledon: The primary leaf of an embryo, or a seed leaf. Monocotyledon is one leaf; Dicotyledon is two leaves.

Creeping: Growing along the surface of the ground or just beneath the surface and producing roots at the nodes.

Crenate: Having rounded teeth around the margin. 

Crest: An elevated ridge or rib on a surface.

Crested: Having a crest usually at the summit or on the back.

Crinkled: Flattened and somewhat kinked, twisted or curled.

Crisped: Wavy, curled, or crinkled. 

Crown: The persistent base of an herbaceous perennial from where both roots and vegetative growth are produced; the top of a tree; the appendages in a corolla throat. 

Cruciform: Cross-shaped.

Culm: The hollow or pithy stalk or stem that often bears an inflorescence at the top. A feature of grasses, rushes, and sedges.

Cuneate: Shaped like a wedge, triangular and tapering to a point at the base. 

Cyme: A flat- or round-topped determinate inflorescence where the terminal (or central) flower of each cluster tends to bloom first.

D

Deciduous: Falling off at the completion of its function, as leaves from a tree; not evergreen; not persistent.

Declined: Curved downward, rather obliquely.

Decurrent: Wings or margins (of leaves, usually) that extend down below from the point of insertion, often adnate to the axis.

Deflexed: Bent abruptly downward.

Dehiscence: The opening of maturity of fruits and anthers.

Dehiscent: Opening of maturity or when ripe to release the contents, as fruit or anthers.

Deltoid: In the shape of the Greek letter delta; shaped in the form of an equilateral triangle. 

Descending: Pointing downward at a moderate angle.

Dicotyledonous: Having two cotyledons.

Digitate: Finger-like.

Dioecious: Unisexual, flowers often imperfect, male and female reproductive structures are found on separate plants. 

Disarticulating: Separating at a joint. 

Disc (or Disk): Generally, the enlargement or outgrowth of the flower receptacle; in the Asteraceae family, the central portion of a head having tubular or disk flowers. 

Disc flower: A regular flower of the Asteraceae family.

Discoid: Resembling a head; in Asteraceae, it refers to heads containing only tubular or disk flowers.

Dissected: Deeply divided into many narrow segments.

Distichous:

Distinct:

Divaricate:

Divided:

Dorsal:

Drupe:

Druplet:

E

Early successional: 

Emerginate:

Epigynous:

Equitant:

Evergreen:

Excurrent:

Exserted

F

Fertile:

Fibrillose:

Filament:

Filiform:

Flaccid:

Fleshy:

Floret:

Follicle:

Forage value:

Forbs:

G

Gamopetalous:

Gametophyte:

Gibbous:

Glaborous:

Gland:

Glandular:

Glaucous:

Glomeruse:

Glume:

Grain:

Grasses:

Grass-like:

Grazing Response:

Gynoecium:

H

Habit:

Habitat:

Head:

Herb:

Herbaceous:

Hermaphroditic:

Heterotypic Synonym: In taxonomy, it is the alternative scientific name for a taxon that is not based on the same type of specimen or nomenclatural rank as another name. It is often based on scientists’ opinions and can be used on restricted species that have their own unique type. For instance, the Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) has many heterotypic synonyms that are so named based on their unique type for the area scientists have found it in.

Homosporous:

Homotypic Synonym: In taxonomy, it is the alternative scientific name for a taxon that is based on the same type of specimen and nomenclatural rank as another name. For example, for the Common Dandelion, Leontodon taraxacum is the homotypic synonym of Taraxacum officinale.

Hyaline:

Hypanthium:

Hypogynous

I

Immersed:

Imperfect:

Included:

Indicator species:

Indusium:

Inferior (ovary)

Inflorescence:

Innovation:

Internode:

Introduced (plants):

Involucre

Involute:

Irregular (flower):

JKL

Joint:

Keel:

Keeled:

Lacerate:

Lanceolate:

Lateral:

Latex:

Leaflet:

Legume:

Lemma:

Lenticels:

Ligule:

Limb:

Linear:

Lip:

Loment:

Lyrate:

M

Moisture Regimes: Areas designated by moisture availability for plant growth. Factors influencing this include soil texture (internal drainage), slope (external drainage), local total precipitation amounts, soil surface conditions, and topographic position. The following moisture regime types are the following:

• Hydric: Saturated conditions, with water removal so slow that the water table remains at the soil surface.
• Sub-hydric: Soils wet to the extent that the permanent water table is near the surface for most of the year; discharge likely.
• Hygric: Soil remains moist for most of the growing season; permanent discharge areas.
• Sub-hygric: Water removal remains slow enough to prevent drying for extended periods throughout the growing season; precipitation and discharge water sources.
• Mesic: Moderate water removal following precipitation, soil moisture generally persists for moderate time periods.
• Sub-mesic: Moderately fast water removal following precipitation, soil moisture generally persists for moderate periods of time.
• Sub-xeric: Rapid water removal following precipitation, but soil moisture persists somewhat longer than in xeric conditions.
• Xeric: Water removal rapid, for brief periods soil is moist following precipitation
• Very-xeric: Very rapid water removal, soils remain dry most of the time following precipitation.

N

O

Ovuliferous:

P

Papilionaceous:

Plant communities: a complex array of unique combinations of plant species, usually of grasses, grass-likes, shrubs, and trees, and occasionally forbs. These combination compositions vary greatly from one location or ecoregion to another, with few dominating

communities in the prairies, to more diverse communities in the foothills.

Q

R

S

Sporophylls:

T

U

V

W

XYZ