Glossary

Species names Genus names After people After places Botanical terms General terms

Botanical terms

A selection of terms that have arisen whilst researching trees - not a botanical dictionary!

Abaxial - the side facing away from the central axis - on a leaf, the underside. (cf. adaxial)
Abscissed - dropped (as in leaves falling)
Achene - a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not open at maturity). Achenes contain a single seed that nearly fills the pericarp, but does not adhere to it. In many species, what is called the "seed" is an achene, a fruit containing the seed.
Acicular - needle like
Acuminate - tapering to a point (leaves)
Adaxial on the same side as the axis, on a leaf the upper side. (cf abaxial)
Allée - An avenue or walkway lined with tall trees or hedging.
Album - white
Anastomosing connection or opening between two things (especially cavities or passages) that are normally diverging or branching, such as between blood vessels, leaf veins, or streams.
Androecium - The male reproductive parts of a flower. The female parts are called the gynoecium.
Androdioecious - bearing only male (staminate) flowers on some plants and either bisexual or both male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flowers on other plants.
Andromonoecious male (staminate) and hermaphrodite (bisexual) flowers are on the same plant.
Anther - The part of the stamen where pollen is produced
Anthesis - the period during which a flower is fully open and functional
Anthocyathin - colored water-soluble pigments belonging to the phenolic group. The pigments are in glycosylated forms. Anthocyanins responsible for the colors, red, purple, and blue, are in fruits and vegetables.
Apical dominance - the main, central stem of the plant is dominant over (i.e., grows more strongly than) other side stems; on a branch the main stem of the branch is further dominant over its own side twigs.
Apiculate - tapering to a short, slender point (leaves)
Apetalous -(of a flower) having no petals
Apomixis- asexual development of seed or embryo without fertilization
Apressed - Lying close and flat, pointing toward the apex of the plant or structure, usually referring to leaves growing up against the stem.
Archaeophyte - long established alien plant, ie found in the wild before 1500
Arcuate - shaped like a bow. From the Latin, "curved"".
Aril (adj. arillate) - an exterior covering or appendage of some seeds (as of the yew) that develops after fertilization as an outgrowth from the ovule stalk
Auricle - a small ear-like projection from the base of a leaf or petal (as on quercus robur leaves)
Axil - the angle between the upper side of a leaf or stem and the supporting stem or branch
Axillary growing from an axil
Bifurcating - splitting in two
Bole - the stem and main trunk of a tree
Bonsai - literally 'a tree growing in a shallow container'. Miniaturised tree which is a realistic representation of the full size tree.
Bract - modified leaf, often positioned beneath a flower or inflorescence
Burr - unnatural mass of twiggy growth caused by the grain growing around a foreign object, localised virus or fungus infection
Calyces - the outer whorl of a flower, consisting of separate or fused sepals. (Singular calyx)
Campanulate - bell shaped. e.g. crinodendron
Caprea - goat (Latin). Possibly for plants seen to be browsed by goats.
Carpel - the female reproductive part of the flower
Caudate - tapering into a long, tail-like extension at the apex.
Centifolia (rose) - a highly fragrant hybrid rose with densely packed, globe-like blooms, Centifolia meaning one hundred leaves (or petals), referring to the volume of overlapping layers that make up each flower head. Because of this heavily layered, rounded shape, it is commonly nicknamed the cabbage rose.
Chartaceous - a texture similar to stiff paper or parchment, being firm-papery and thickly membranous
Chimaera - a single organism that is made up of cells from two or more individuals. It contains 2 or more sets of DNA code.
Chorophyll - a pigment required for photosynthesis, the process by which light energy is converted into chemical energy. It is responsible for the green colouration in plants.
Cicatrix - new tissue that forms over a wound and contracts into a scar
Ciliate - Describing a structure, such as a leaf margin, fringed with fine hairs.e.g. rhododendron ciliatum
Clade - In biological phylogenetics, a clade (from Ancient Greek kládos 'branch'), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group,[1] is a grouping of organisms that are monophyletic - that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants - on a phylogenetic tree
Cladodes - shoot systems in which leaves do not develop; rather, the stems become flattened and assume the photosynthetic functions of the plant.
Conifer - of the order Coniferales , mostly evergreen trees and shrubs having usually needle-shaped or scalelike leaves and including forms (such as pines) with true cones and others (such as yews) with an arillate fruit
Coppiced - cut back to ground level periodically to stimulate growth
Cordate - heart shaped
Coriaceous - leathery (referring to leaves)
Corolla - all the petals of a flower
Corymb - a type of inflorescence in which the lower flowers have longer pedicels than the upper ones, creating a flat-topped appearance.
Cotyledon - an embryonic leaf in seed-bearing plants, one or more of which are the first leaves to appear from a germinating seed

Crenate - round toothed or scalloped margins (leaves)

Cupule - a small cup that holds and protects the fruit during its growth and maturation (for e..g in fagus varieties).
Cyme - A flower cluster with a flat or round top, the central flower blooms first, followed by the peripheral flowers. Each flower stalk ends in a single flower
Decurrent - extending down the stem beyond the point of attachment
Decussate - cross or intersect each other to form an X
Dehiscent - opening at maturity
Dichogamy - the ripening of the stamens and pistils of a flower at different times, so that self-fertilization is prevented.
Dichotomous venation - when two veins form at the base of a leaf and fork repeatedly in two. e.g. in ginkgo biloba leaves.
Dioecious - having male and female reproductive parts on separate plants
Distal - remote from the place of attachment, the opposite of proximal, the same as apical.
Drupe - a fleshy fruit with thin skin and a central stone containing the seed
Epicormic - the growth of new shoots from epicormic buds that lie dormant beneath the bark, usually as a result of damage or stress
Epiphytic - growing on the surface of another plant or plant-like organism
Espalier - a tree that is trained against a support with a central vertical stem and several tiers of horizontal branches, generally referred to as arms.
Everciduous - applied to decidous trees that retain their dead leaves over winter (see marcescence)
Exfoliating - loss of skin (bark)
Exserted - sticking out, protruding. (The opposite of inserted)
Fascicles - clusters (e.g. of needles on conifers). Fasciculate,to grow or form in bundles or clusters,
Fastigiate - having upright usually clustered branches
Ferruginous - resembling iron rust in colour
Follicle - a dry, dehiscent fruit derived from a single carpel that splits open along one side (a single suture) to release its seeds.
Forma - a plant that has a minor difference to the species, such as leaf colour, flower colour or fruit, that occurs in the wild
Frond - the leaf or leaflike part of a palm, fern, or similar plant, usually composed of leaflets on a petiole.
Ganoderma - a shelf like polyphore fungus that can feed on live or dead wood
Galbulus - A fleshy cone (megastrobilus); chiefly relating to those borne by junipers and cypresses, and often mistakenly called a berry. Formed by fleshy cone scales which accrete into a single mass under a unified epidermis.
Glabrous - free from hair or down; smooth.
Glabrescent - glabrous or tending to become glabrous
Gymnosperms have seeds, but no flowers or fruits. (e.g. juniper)
Gynoecium - (from Ancient Greek gyne - woman) the female reproductive parts of a flower. The male parts are called the androecium.
Hermaphroditic - containing both male and female floral organs: pistils and stamens
Heteroblasty - juvenile to adult transformation
Hilum - a scar on a seed marking the point of attachment to its seed vessel.
Hispid - covered with stiff hairs or bristles
Hybrid musk rose - a class of repeat-flowering shrub roses with arching habit, exceptional disease resistance, and clusters of fragrant blooms. Originally bred in the early 20th century by the Reverend Joseph Pemberton in England.
Hypanthia - a cuplike or tubular enlargement of the receptacle of a flower, loosely surrounding the gynoecium or united with it
Imparipinnate - pinnate leaves with a terminal, unpaired leaflet. cf Paripinnate
Indehiscent - does not open at maturity
Indumentum - a covering of fine hairs
Inflorescence - a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem
Intercalary vein - comparatively large veins from the midrib to the sinus between two lobes (as on quercus robur leaves).
Involucre - one or more whorls of bracts situated below and close to a flower, flower cluster, or fruit
Laciniate - having edges irregularly slashed or cut; roughly fringed
Leaf miner - a small moth with caterpillars that feed inside (horse chestnut) leaves, causing brown or white blotch mines to develop between the leaf veins.
Lenticel - a loosely packed mass of raised pores in the bark of a woody plant, visible on the surface of a stem as a raised powdery spot, through which gaseous exchange occurs.
Lignotuber a woody swelling of the root crown providing a protection against destruction of the plant stem, such as by fire
A living fossil is an extant taxon that cosmetically resembles related species known only from the fossil record. To be considered a living fossil, the fossil species must be old relative to the time of origin of the extant clade.
Loriform - strap shaped (lorum means strap or thong in Latin)

Lusus - Also called a sport or bud sport, is a part of a plant that shows morphological differences from the rest of the plant. Sports may differ by foliage shape or color, flowers, fruit, or branch structure. The cause is generally thought to be a chance genetic mutation.
Mamillate - nipple-like or bump-like
Marcescence - retaining of leaves over winter on a deciduous (or "everciduous") tree, as on beech and sometimes oak
Midrib - vein running from the base to the apex of a leaf
Monocarpellate - formed from one carpel
Monocot - or monocotyledons, grasses or grass like flowering plants
Monoecious - male and female reproductive parts are on the same plant
Monotypic - having only one type of species in a genus
Mucronate - (of leaves) ending in a short sharp point (a mucro)
Nyctinasty - plant movement (such as the closing of a flower's petals or the reorientation of a leaf's position) that occurs in response to changes in light intensity
Neophyte - a plant not native to a region, introduced and escaped into the wild in recent history (after 1500). cf. Archaeophyte
Nothospecies - A hybrid which is formed by direct hybridization of two species, not other hybrids.
Obovate - egg shaped, with the narrower end at the base (usually referring to leaf shape)
Operculum - a cap-like structure in some flowering plants, mosses, and fungi.
Ovary: The enlarged basal portion of the pistil where ovules are produced.
Ovate - egg shaped (usually of leaves)
Ovule - the part of the ovary of seed plants that contains the female germ cell and after fertilization becomes the seed.
Panicle - a loose branching cluster of flowers
Palmate - like a hand: having five or more lobes whose midribs all radiate from one point
Papillae - A small fleshy projection on a plant (often as part of the stigma)
Paripinnate - pinnate leaves with an even number of pairs of leaflets, without a terminal leaflet. cf. imparipinnate
Pedicel - a small stalk bearing an individual flower in an inflorescence
Pedunculate - having a peduncle (a stalk bearing a flower or fruit)
Pellicle - a thin layer supporting the cell membrane in various protozoa
Pentamerous - having parts arranged in groups of five.
Pericarp, pericarpus - the part of a fruit formed from the wall of the ripened ovary.
Perfect - having both male and female parts
Petiole - the stalk attaching a leaf to the stem. It is capable of twisting the leaf to face the sun.
Phyllodes are modified petioles or leaf stems, which are leaf-like in appearance and function. In some plants, these become flattened and widened, while the leaf itself becomes reduced or vanishes altogether. Thus the phyllode comes to serve the purpose of the leaf.
Phyllanthies -
Pilose - covered with long soft hairs
Pisifera - pea bearing
Pistil: The ovule producing part of a flower. The ovary often supports a long style, topped by a stigma.
Pistillate - female. cf. staminate, male.
Pollard - the process in which the main branch systems of trees are pruned heavily to short stubs
Pome - a fruit consisting of a fleshy enlarged receptacle and a tough central core containing the seeds, e.g. an apple, pear, quince, rowan.
Protozoa - a single celled organism
Proximal - near to the place of attachment. Opposite of distal. Same as basal.
Pubescence - having hair
Pulvini - plant motor organs, specifically swellings at the base of plant leaves or leaflets, that facilitate movement, such as leaf folding, through changes in turgor pressure.
Pyrene, pyrena - fruitstone within a drupe or drupelet produced by the ossification of the endocarp or lining of the fruit
Pyriform - pear-shaped
Raceme - a flower cluster with the separate flowers attached by short equal stalks at equal distances along a central stem. The flowers at the base of the central stem develop first.
Rachis - stem of a plant, bearing flowers at short intervals
Receptacle - the thickened, broadened end of a flower stalk (pedicel) from which the floral organs grow. It serves as the foundation where sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels attach, effectively anchoring the flower.
Reniform - kidney shaped
Resin blisters - Horizontal scars on the bark of fir, hemlock and cedar. Inside viscous, sticky, clear resin, also called pitch. It is not sap, more like turpentine than sap.
Reticulate - web-like
Revolute - curled backwards or downwards (relating to leaf edges)
Rhizome - a specialized forms of stems that can produce new shoots and roots while staying underground.
Riparian relating to or situated on the banks of a river
Rugose - crinkled, corrugated
Samara - a winged achene, a type of fruit in which a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue develops from the ovary wall.
Saprotrophic = (mushrooms) the organism feeding on already dead organic materials.
Scabrous - rough, as if covered with scabs
Schedule 9 of the UK Wildlife & Countryside Act lists invasive non-native animals and plantswhich are established in the wild which may not be released or allowed to escape into the wild unless authorised by a licence.
Self-incompatible - the plant cannot pollinate itself, making cross-pollination necessary
Sepal: The outer parts of the flower (often green and leaf-like) that enclose a developing bud.
Sequential hermaphrodite - a plant capable of changing its sex throughout its lifetime
Serotinous - late in developing, opening or blooming. eg radiata pine cones remain closed until after a branch has died, or succombed to fire.
Serrated - having a jagged edge, saw-like
Sessile - without a stem (usually of leaves, or acorns). Literally 'fixed in one place, immobile'.
Setose - Covered in stiff, bristle-like hairs (from Latin seta, meaning bristle)
Shidare - cascading. e.g. Acer palmatum inaba shidare, a Japanese maple cultivar
Shrub small to medium sized perennial woody stemmed plant. Multiple stems in contrast to the more usual single stem of a tree
Sub-shrub a dwarf shrub, especially one that is woody only at the base
Sinus - a space or indentation between two lobes or teeth, usually on a leaf
Sport - a sport or bud sport, traditionally called lusus, is a part of a plant that shows morphological differences from the rest of the plant. Sports may differ by foliage shape or color, flowers, fruit, or branch structure. The cause is generally thought to be a chance genetic mutation.
Stamen - The pollen producing part of a flower, usually with a slender filament supporting the anther.
Staminate - male. cf pistillate, female
Stigma - the part of the pistil where the pollen germinates
Stipe - usually a short stalk of a plant, alga, or fungus: such as the stem supporting the cap of a fungus
Stipules - a small leaflike appendage to a leaf, typically borne in pairs at the base of the leaf stalk.
Stomata -cell structures in the epidermis of tree leaves and needles that are involved in the exchange of carbon dioxide and water between plants and the atmosphere.
Strobilus (pl. strobili) A reproductive structure characterized by overlapping scalelike parts, as a pine cone or the fruit of the hop.
Sub-shrub - either a small shrub (e.g. prostrate shrubs) or a perennial that is largely herbaceous but slightly woody at the base
Style - a narrow upward extension of the ovary, connecting it to the stigmatic papillae.
Syconium - a fruit that has developed from more than one flower, in which the flowers were tightly clustered, and matured into a tight cluster of individual fruits - yet these flowers - ovaries/fruit are borne inside of the hollow, inverted receptacle. e.g. a fig
Syncarp - a fleshy multiple fruit, formed from two or more carpels of one flower or the aggregated fruits of several flowers (such as a raspberry)
Tepal - one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as sepal or petal
Terete - cylindrical or slightly tapering, and without substantial furrows or ridges.
Tomentum - densely matted woolly hairs (usually on leaves)
Tree - a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. Single stem and taller than 6m are often the distinctions made between tree and shrub.
Turbinate - shaped like a spinning top or inverted cone (e.g. with acorns)
Turpentine - an oil distilled from resin, mainly of pine trees.
Umbel - a flower cluster in which stalks of nearly equal length spring from a common centre and form a flat or curved surface
Vesicle - a small, bladder-like sac or cavity, often filled with air or liquid
Virescence - a growth consisting of distorted and multiplied parts of a plant, either green and leafy or woody and twiggy.
Viscid, viscus - having a glutinous or sticky consistency (cf. viscous)
Whorl - a circular arrangement of three or more plant organs — such as leaves, petals, or sepals radiating from a single node and wrapping around a stem or floral axis.