Native Plants
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Glossary of commonly used botanical terms and their definitions. Use the search bar below to look up a botanical term.
15 Random Botanical Terms
FAC - Facultative - Hydrophyte. Occurs in wetlands and non-wetlands.
Lobe - Part or segment of a flower or leaf; a deep indentation that does not break the continuity of the structure.
Solitary - Borne singly; alone.
Rachis - The axis of a pinnately compound leaf.
Thorn - A sharp-pointed structure formed by a modified branch.
Reniform - Kidney-shaped.
Entire - Said of margins without teeth or lobes.
Lanceolate - Having the shape of a spear-head or lance.
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.
Elliptic - Shaped like an ellipse, resembling a flattened circle.
Appressed - Pressed or lying flat against something.
Pod - A dry fruit that splits after ripening, a term applied to fruits in the Legume Family.
Truncate - Ending abruptly, e.g., a leaf blade squared at the base.
Shoot - A stem or branch and its leaves.
Vine - Plants that climb by twining, tendrils, or clinging.