chlorophyll. Leaf green. Chlorophyll is the pigment that gives the characteristic colour to plants.
cladophylla. Stems that look like leaves, and function as leaves, as in asparagus and the florists’ smilax.
cleistogamous. Applied to small flowers, usually hidden beneath the earth, that are little developed as to floral envelopes, and are self-fertilized; also to self-fertilization in flowers that do not open.
complete flowers have all the parts,—calyx, corolla, stamens, pistil.
corolla. The inner row or series of flower-leaves, usually coloured, and often of irregular shape. It may be all one piece or of many pieces.
corymb. A flattish flower-cluster in which the outermost flowers open first.
cotyledon. A leaf of the embryo; seed-leaf. The embryo may have one cotyledon (monocotyledon), or two cotyledons (dicotyledon), or sometimes more than two.
cross-fertilization is fertilization by means of pollen produced in another flower.
cryptogam. One of the group of flowerless or non-seed-bearing plants, as a fern, fungus, moss, seaweed.
cutting. A shoot planted in soil or water for the purpose of making a new plant.