GLOSSARY
With page references to explanatory figures.
Abortion. Imperfect development or non-development of an organ or part.
Acuminate. Gradually tapering to the apex. Page [xii.]
Acute. Terminating with a sharp angle. Page [xii.]
Alternate. Said of leaves, branches, buds, etc., scattered singly along the stem; not opposite.
Androgynous. Composed of both staminate and pistillate flowers.
Anterior. The front side of a flower, remote from the axis of inflorescence.
Anther. The part of a stamen which bears the pollen. Page [xiii.].
Apetalous. Without petals.
Apex. The top, as the tip of a bud or the end of a leaf which is opposite the petiole.
Apiculate. Ending in a short-pointed tip.
Appressed. Lying close and flat against.
Aromatic. Fragrant; with an agreeable odor.
Axil. The upper one of the two angles formed by the juncture of a leaf with a stem.
Axillary. Situated in an axil.
Bark. The outer covering of a trunk or branch.
Bearded. Bearing a long, bristle-like appendage, or furnished with long or stiff hairs.
Berry. A fruit which is fleshy throughout.
Bi-pinnate. Twice pinnate.
Blade. The expanded portion of a leaf, etc.
Bloom. A powdery or waxy substance easily rubbed off.
Bract. A more or less modified leaf subtending a flower or belonging to an inflorescence.
Branch. A secondary division of a trunk.
Branchlet. A small branch.
Bud. An undeveloped stem or branch, with or without scales.
Bud-scales. Modified leaves covering a bud.
Bundle-scars. Dots on the surface of a leaf-scar, which are scars left by the fibro-vascular bundles which run through the petiole into the blade of the leaf. Page [xvi.]
Bur. A spiny fruit.
Calyx. The outer part of a perianth, usually green in color. Page [xiii.].
Campanulate. Bell-shaped.
Capsule. A dry fruit of more than one carpel which splits at maturity to release the seeds.
Carpel. A simple pistil, or one member of a compound pistil.
Catkin. A spike of unisexual flowers, each subtended by a bract, and usually deciduous in one piece.
Chambered. Said of pith which is interrupted by hollow spaces.
Ciliate. Fringed with hairs on the margin.
Cinereous. Ash-gray color.
Claw. The narrow, stalk-like base of a petal, sepal, etc.
Cleft. Cut about half-way to the middle.
Cluster. A group of two or more organs (flowers, fruit, etc.) on a plant at a node or end of a stem.
Compound. Composed of two or more similar parts united into a whole. Compound leaf, one divided into separate leaflets.
Cone. A fruit with woody, overlapping scales.
Conical. Cone-shaped, largest at the base and tapering to the apex.
Connective. The portion of a stamen which connects the two cells of the anther.
Cordate. Heart-shaped. Page [xii.]
Coriaceous. Leather-like in texture.
Corky. Made of, or like cork.
Corolla. The inner part of a perianth, usually bright colored. Page XIII.
Corymb. A flower-cluster in which the axis is shortened and the pedicels of the lower flowers lengthened, forming a flat-topped inflorescence, the marginal flowers blooming first. Page [xiv.]
Corymbose. Arranged in corymbs.
Crenate. Dentate, with the teeth much rounded. Page [xiii.]
Crenulate. Finely crenate.
Crown. The upper part of a tree, including the living branches with their foliage.
Cutting. A piece of the stem, root or leaf which, if cut off and placed in contact with the soil, will form new roots and buds, reproducing the parent plant.
Cyme. A broad and flattish inflorescence, the central flowers of which bloom first. Page [xiv.]
Cymose. Arranged in cymes.
Deciduous. Not persistent; falling away, as the leaves of a tree in autumn.
Decurrent. Said of a leaf which extends down the stem below the point of fastening.
Decussate. Alternating in pairs at right angles.
Dehiscent. Opening by valves or slits.
Deltoid. Delta-shaped.
Dentate. Toothed, with the teeth usually pointed and directed outward. Page [xiii.]
Depressed. Somewhat flattened from above.
Dichotomous. Branching regularly in pairs.
Digitate. Said of a compound leaf in which the leaflets are borne at the apex of the petiole; finger-shaped.
Dioecious. Unisexual, with staminate and pistillate flowers on different individuals.
Distribution. The geographical extent and limits of a species.
Divergent. Said of buds, cones, etc., which point away from the twig, or of pine needles, etc., which spread apart.
Dorsal. Pertaining to the back or outer surface of an organ.
Downy. Covered with fine hairs.
Drupe. A fleshy or pulpy fruit in which the inner portion is hard or stony.
Ellipsoid. An elliptical solid.
Elliptical. Oval or oblong with regularly rounded ends. Page [xii.]
Emarginate. Notched at the apex. Page [xii.]
Entire. Without divisions, lobes or teeth.
Excrescences. Warty outgrowths or protuberances.
Exfoliate. To cleave off, as of the outer layers of bark.
Falcate. Scythe-shaped.
Fascicle. A compact cluster of leaves or flowers.
Fascicled. Arranged in fascicles.
Fastigiate. Said of branches which are erect and near together.
Feather-veined. Having veins extending from the midrib to the margin, feather-wise.
Fertile. Capable of bearing fruit.
Fertilization. The mingling of the contents of a male (pollen) and female (ovule) cell.
Filament. The part of a stamen which bears the anther. Page [xiii.]
Filamentose or Filamentous. Composed of threads or filaments.
Flaky. With loose scales easily rubbed off (bark).
Fleshy. Succulent; juicy.
Flower. An axis bearing stamens or pistils or both (calyx and corolla usually accompany these).
Fluted. With rounded ridges.
Fruit. The part of a plant which bears the seed.
Germinate. To sprout, as of a seed.
Gibbous. Swollen on one side.
Glabrous. Neither rough, pubescent, nor hairy; smooth.
Gland. Secreting surface or structure; a protuberance having the appearance of such an organ.
Glandular. Bearing glands.
Glaucous. Covered or whitened with a bloom.
Globose. Spherical or nearly so.
Globular. Nearly globose.
Gregarious. Growing in groups or colonies.
Habit. The general appearance of a plant, best seen from a distance.
Habitat. The place where a plant naturally grows, as in water, clay soil, marsh, etc.
Hairy. With long hairs.
Halberd-shaped. Like an arrow-head, but with the basal lobes pointing outward nearly at right angles. Page [xii.]
Heartwood. The dead central portion of the trunk or large branch of a tree.
Hirsute. Covered with rather coarse or stiff hairs.
Hoary. Gray-white with a fine, close pubescence.
Homogeneous. Uniform; composed of similar parts or elements.
Hybrid. A cross between two nearly related species, formed by the action of the pollen of one upon the pistil of the other, yielding an intermediate form.
Imbricate. Overlapping, like the shingles on a roof.
Indehiscent. Not opening by valves or slits; remaining persistently closed.
Indigenous. Native and original to a region.
Inflorescence. The flowering part of a plant, and especially its arrangement.
Internode. The portion of a stem between two nodes.
Involucral. Pertaining to an involucre.
Involucre. A circle of bracts surrounding a flower or cluster of flowers.
Keeled. With a central ridge like the keel of a boat.
Laciniate. Cut into narrow, pointed lobes.
Lanceolate. Lance-shaped, broadest above the base and tapering to the apex, but several times longer than wide. Page [xii.]
Lateral. Situated on the side of a branch.
Leaf. The green expansions borne by the branches of a tree, consisting of a blade with or without a petiole.
Leaflet. One of the small blades of a compound leaf.
Leaf-scar. The scar left on a twig by the falling of a leaf. Page [xvi.]
Legume. A pod-like fruit composed of a solitary carpel and usually splitting open by both sutures (Leguminosae).
Lenticels. Corky growths on young bark which admit air to the interior of a twig or branch.
Linear. Long and narrow, with parallel edges (as pine needles). Page [xii.]
Lobe. Any division of an organ, especially if rounded.
Lobed. Provided with a lobe or lobes. Page [xiii.]
Lustrous. Glossy; shining.
Membranaceous. Thin and somewhat translucent.
Midrib. The central vein of a leaf or leaflet.
Monoecious. Unisexual, with staminate and pistillate flowers on the same individual.
Mucilaginous. Slimy; resembling or secreting mucilage or gum.
Mucronate. Tipped with a small, abrupt point. Page [xii.]
Naked. Lacking organs or parts which are normally present in related species or genera.
Naturalized. Said of introduced plants which are reproducing by self-sown seeds.
Nectariferous. Producing nectar.
Node. The place upon a stem which normally bears a leaf or whorl of leaves.
Nut. A hard and indehiscent, 1-celled, 1-seeded fruit.
Nutlet. A diminutive nut.
Oblanceolate. Lanceolate, with the broadest part toward the apex. Page [xii.]
Oblique. Slanting, or with unequal sides.
Oblong. Longer than broad, with sides approximately parallel. Page [xii.]
Obovale. Ovate, with the broadest part toward the apex. Page [xii.]
Obovoid. An ovate solid with the broadest part toward the apex.
Obtuse. Blunt or rounded at the apex. Page [xii.]
Opaque. Dull; neither shining nor translucent.
Opposite. Said of leaves, branches, buds, etc., on opposite sides of a stem at a node.
Orbicular. Circular. Page [xii.]
Oval. Broadly elliptical. Page [xii.]
Ovary. The part of a pistil that contains the ovules. Page [xiii.]
Ovate. Egg-shaped, with the broad end basal. Page [xii.]
Ovoid. Solid ovate or solid oval.
Ovule. The part of a flower which after fertilization becomes the seed.
Palmate. Radiately lobed or divided; hand-shaped.
Panicle. A loose, irregularly compound inflorescence with pedicellate flowers. Page [xiv.]
Paniculate. Arranged in panicles or resembling a panicle.
Papilionaceous. Butterfly-like, as in flowers of the Leguminosae.
Pedicel. The stalk of a single flower in a compound inflorescence.
Pedicellate. Borne on a pedicel.
Peduncle. A primary flower-stalk, supporting either a cluster or a solitary flower.
Pendent. Hanging downward.
Pendulous. More or less hanging or declined.
Perfect. Said of a flower with both stamens and pistil. Page [xiii.]
Perianth. The calyx and corolla of a flower considered as a whole.
Persistent. Long-continuous, as leaves through the winter, calyx on the fruit, etc.
Petal. One of the divisions of a corolla. Page [xiii.]
Petiolate. Having a petiole.
Petiole. The stem or stalk of a leaf.
Petiolulate. Having a petiolule.
Petiolule. The stem or stalk of a leaflet.
Pilose. Hairy with long, soft hairs.
Pinnate. Compound, with the leaflets arranged along both sides of a common petiole.
Pistil. The seed-bearing organ of a flower, normally consisting of ovary, style and stigma. Page [xiii.]
Pistillate. Provided with a pistil, but usually without stamens.
Pith. The softer central part of a twig or stem. Page [xvi.]
Pollen. The fecundating grains borne in the anther.
Polygamo-dioecious. Sometimes perfect, sometimes unisexual, both forms borne on different individuals.
Polygamo-monoecious. Sometimes perfect, sometimes unisexual, both forms borne on the same individual.
Polygamous. Sometimes perfect, sometimes unisexual, both forms borne on the same or on different individuals.
Pome. A fleshy fruit, as the apple.
Posterior. The back side of a flower, next to the axis of inflorescence.
Prickle. A small spine growing from the bark.
Puberulent. Minutely pubescent.
Puberulous. Minutely pubescent.
Pubescence. A covering of short, soft hairs.
Pubescent. Covered with short, soft hairs.
Punctate. Dotted with translucent or colored dots or pits.
Raceme. A simple inflorescence of flowers on pedicels of equal length arranged on a common, elongated axis (rachis). Page [xiv.]
Racemose. Resembling a raceme.
Rachis. The central axis of a spike or raceme of flowers or of a compound leaf.
Recurved. Curved downward or backward.
Reticulate. Netted.
Rough. Harsh to the touch; pubescent.
Rugose. Wrinkled.
Samara. An indehiscent winged fruit.
Sapwood. The living outer portion of a trunk or large branch of a tree between the heartwood and the bark.
Scales. Small modified leaves, usually thin and scarious, seen in buds and cones; the flakes into which the outer bark often divides.
Scaly. Provided with scales.
Scarious. Thin, dry, membranaceous; not green.
Scurfy. Covered with small bran-like scales.
Seed. The ripened ovule.
Sepal. One of the divisions of a calyx. Page [xiii.]
Serrate. Toothed, the teeth sharp and pointing forward. Page [xiii.]
Sessile. Without a stalk.
Shrub. A bushy, woody growth, usually branched at or near the base, less than 15 feet in height.
Simple. Of one piece; not compound.
Sinuate. Strongly wavy. Page [xiii.]
Sinuous. In form like the path of a snake.
Sinus. The cleft or space between two lobes.
Smooth. Smooth to the touch; not pubescent.
Spatulate. Wide and rounded at the apex, but gradually narrowed downward. Page [xii.]
Spike. A simple inflorescence of sessile flowers arranged on a common, elongated axis (rachis). Page [xiv.]
Spine. A sharp woody outgrowth from a stem.
Spray. The aggregate of smaller branches and branchlets.
Stamen. The pollen-bearing organ of a flower, normally consisting of filament and anther. Page [xiii.]
Staminate. Provided with stamens, but usually without pistils.
Staminodium. A sterile stamen.
Sterile. Unproductive, as a flower without pistil, or a stamen without anther.
Stigma. The part of a pistil which receives the pollen. Page [xiii.]
Stipules. Leaf-like appendages on either side of a leaf at the base of the petiole.
Stipule-scar. The scar left by the fall of a stipule. Page [xv.]
Striate. Marked with fine longitudinal stripes or ridges.
Strobile. A cone.
Style. The part of a pistil connecting ovary with stigma. Page [xiii.]
Sub-. A prefix applied to many botanical terms, indicating somewhat or slightly.
Subtend. To lie under or opposite to.
Sucker. A shoot arising from a subterranean part of a plant.
Superposed. Placed above, as one bud above another at a node.
Suture. A junction or line of dehiscence.
Terete. Circular in cross-section.
Terminal. Situated at the end of a branch.
Ternate. In threes.
Tetrahedral. Having, or made up of, four faces (triangles).
Thorn. A stiff, woody, sharp-pointed projection.
Tolerant. Capable of enduring more or less heavy shade.
Tomentose. Densely pubescent with matted wool.
Toothed. With teeth or short projections.
Torus. The part of the axis of a flower which bears the floral organs.
Transverse. Said of a wood section made at right angles with the axis of the stem; across the grain.
Tree. Usually defined as a plant with a woody stem, unbranched at or near the base, reaching a height of at least 15 feet.
Trunk. The main stem of a tree.
Turbinate. Top-shaped.
Umbel. A simple inflorescence of flowers on pedicels which radiate from the same point. Page [xiv.]
Umbellate. Arranged in umbels.
Undulate. With a wavy margin or surface. Page [xiii.]
Unisexual. Of one sex, either staminate or pistillate; not perfect.
Veins. Threads of fibro-vascular tissue in a leaf, petal, or other flat organ.
Villose or Villous. Covered with long, soft hairs.
Viscid. Glutinous; sticky.
Whorl. An arrangement of leaves or branches in a circle round an axis.
Wood. The hard part of a stem lying between the pith and the bark.
Woolly. Covered with long and matted or tangled hairs.