Flowers and their friends

by Margaret Warner Morley

S.

Salamander, n. A kind of lizard, formerly supposed to be able to live in the fire.

Salt, n. One of the most important substances in the world. It is necessary to the existence of animals and is one of the constituents of many plants.

Sap, n. The juice of plants. It is to them what the blood is to animals.

Saturn, n. In classical mythology, the father of Jupiter.

Scales, n. A.-S. scealu, a scale, husk; in botany, a small, rudimentary leaf, scale-like in form. Scales cover the leaf buds and sometimes the flower buds; they also constitute some bulbs.

Scape, n. L. scapus, shaft, stalk; the long, leafless peduncle which starts from the ground and bears flowers at the top, as in the hyacinth.

Sceptre, n. L. sceptrum, a staff to lean on; a sceptre; a staff of office; the staff of kingship.

Secrete, v. L. secernere, to separate; to form from the materials of the sap or the blood a new substance. The organ that secretes is called a gland.

Secundus, n. L. secundus, second; the name given in this book to a suppositional plant.

Seed, n. The fertilized and matured ovule of a flower.

Seed-coat, n. The outer covering to a seed.

Seedlet, n. A little seed.

Sepal, n. L. separ, separate; one of the separate leaves that form the calyx.

Septimus, n. L. septimus, seventh; the name given in this book to a suppositional plant.

Sextus, n. L. sextus, sixth; a name given in this book to a suppositional plant.

Shrub, n. A woody, branching plant, smaller than a tree.

Silica, n. L. silex, flint; a substance found very abundantly in the earth’s crust. It is very hard, and when melted forms glass; it is found in solution in some springs and is taken up by certain plants and deposited on or near the surface.

Skin, n. The outside covering of an animal or plant.

Skin cells, n. The cells of which the skin is made up.

Snowdrop, n. An early spring flower cultivated in gardens; it sometimes blossoms under the snow.

Soda, n. A compound of sodium, carbon, and oxygen; found in the composition of some plants.

Sodium, n. One of the elements of common salt, and also found in the tissues of plants and animals.

Sorrel, n. A.-S. sūr, sour; a kind of plant with acid leaves.

Sphinx, n. In Greek mythology, a monster with the head of a woman, the wings of an eagle, and the claws of a lion; she sat on a rock and proposed a riddle to all who passed and killed those who could not guess it. The Egyptian sphinx has no wings and is not the same as the Greek monster; it is generally placed in rows in avenues leading to temples, and the largest and most famous Egyptian sphinx is the Great Sphinx near the great pyramids of Ghizeh; it held a temple between its paws.

Spring beauties, n. Pretty, delicate, and early spring flowers.

Spur, n. A pointed instrument worn on the heel to goad a horse; any sharp projection formed like a horseman’s spur.

Stamen, n. L. stamen, thread, string, fibre; the floral organ containing the fertilizing pollen. The stamen, like the pistil, is believed to be a modified leaf.

Starch, n. A substance composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, forming one of the principal elements in plants and necessary as food to animals.

Stiffening cells, n. The woody cells and other tough-walled cells that serve to keep the shape of a plant.

Stigma, n. The structure at the top of the style where the pollen is received.

Stipules, n. L. stipula, a stalk, stem, blade; the small, leaf-like appendages at the base of the petiole of leaves.

Stoma, n. From a Greek word meaning “mouth-opening”; a small opening in the skin of leaves and young stems leading to the air cavities within the plant; a breathing pore.

Stomata, n. The plural of “stoma.”

Strengthening cells, n. The cells with tough or hard walls that serve to give firmness and support to plant tissues.

Suction, n. L. sugere, to suck; the process of sucking.

Sulphur, n. A solid substance found in the earth’s crust in certain places; it is one of the constituents of protoplasm, and although occurring in it in very small quantities, it is essential.

Sulphuric acid, n. Oil of vitriol, a combination of hydrogen, sulphur, and oxygen. Sulphuric acid is found in the earth and in the air in very small quantities, and is the source from which plants as a rule derive their sulphur.