Glossary of botanical terms

• Areole.
• Alternate. (see: Leaf Configuration graphic.)
• Annual. A plant that naturally completes its life cycle in one year.
• Anther. (see: Parts of a Flower graphic.)
• Aril. An outer covering of a seed.
• Axillary bud. (see: Leaf Configuration graphic.)
• Biennial. A plant that lives two years from sowing, usually flowering in the second year.
• Blade. (see: Leaf Configuration graphic.)
• Capsule. A seed pod that opens when dry and ripe.
• Calyx. The small whorl of modified leaves at the base of a flower.
• Compound leaves. Leaves divided into two or more leaflets.
• Cotyledon. The first leaf or leaves in the seed. In some plants the cotyledons remain underground in the seedcoat.
• Crenate. (see: Leaf Shapes graphic.)
• Cyme. (see: Inflorescence graphic.)
• Deciduous.
• Dentate. (see: Leaf Shapes graphic.)
• Elliptic. (see: Leaf Shapes graphic.)
• Filament. (see: Parts of a Flower graphic.)
• Germination. The sprouting of a seed.
• Heel. A small portion of the previous year's growth at the base of a cutting.
• Herbaceous. Dying to the ground or lacking a definite woody structure.
• Hilum. The small scar on a seed where it was attached to the seed pod.
• Incised. (see: Leaf Shapes graphic.)
• Involucre. A whorl of small leaves close underneath a flower or flower cluster. (see: Leaf Configuration graphic.)
• Lanceolate. (see: Leaf Shapes graphic.)
• Layers. See "Propagation".
• Leaflet. One part of a compound leaf.
• Linear. (see: Leaf Shapes graphic.)
• Node. The place on a stem where leaves or branches originate.
• Opposite. (see: Leaf Configuration graphic.)
• Ovary. (see: Parts of a Flower graphic.)
• Ovate. Having an outline the shape of an egg, with the stalk at the large end. (see: Leaf Shapes graphic.)
• Palmate. (see: Leaf Configuration graphic.) (see also: Leaf Shapes graphic.)
• Panicle. (see: Inflorescence graphic.)
• Pedicel. (see: Inflorescence graphic.)
• Perennial. Growing for more than two years. Trees and shrubs are perennials.
• Petal. (see: Parts of a Flower graphic.)
• Petiole. (see: Leaf Configuration graphic.)
• Pinching. Removing the terminal bud.
• Pinnate. Feather-formed. Said of a compound leaf with the leaflets along both sides of the leaf stalk. (see: Leaf Configuration graphic.)
• Pistil. (see: Parts of a Flower graphic.)
• Raceme. An elongated cluster of flowers. (see: Inflorescence graphic.)
• Receptacle. (see: Parts of a Flower graphic.)
• Rhizome. An underground stem.
• Sepals. The separate leaves of the calyx. (see: Parts of a Flower graphic.)
• Serrate. (see: Leaf Shapes graphic.)
• Spatulate. (see: Leaf Shapes graphic.)
• Spike. (see: Inflorescence graphic.)
• Stamen. (see: Parts of a Flower graphic.)
• Stigma. (see: Parts of a Flower graphic.)
• Style. (see: Parts of a Flower graphic.)
• Suckers. Small plants arising from the base of a larger plant.
• Taproot. A primary root growing straight down from a plant.
• Terminal. Growing at the end of a branch.
  • Terminal leaflet. (see: Leaf Configuration graphic.)
• Tubercle.
• Umbel. A flower cluster in the shape of an umbrella. (see: Inflorescence graphic.)
• Under glass. Grown in the greenhouse or, in the case of a cutting, with a jar placed over it.
• Whorled. (see: Leaf Configuration graphic.)

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