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Glossary

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

These glossary pages have been used as a note-taking area while researching some of the trees in the tree gallery. The glossary is not comprehensive, as is not intended as a botnical dictionary. The glossary has grown quite large, so it has been split into a six different categories:

Some species names

  • Adpressa - evergreen or forever living. e.g. taxus baccata adpressa aurea, dwarf golden yew. Also possibly "defying gravity".
  • Ailantifolia - resembling the leaves of tree of heaven (ailanthus altissima). e.g. Juglans ailantifolia.
  • Alatus - winged. e.g. euonymous alatus
  • alba, albo - white
  • Alnifolia - alder like leaves

Common Genus names

  • Abies - fir
  • Acer - maple, Latin for sharp
  • Callistemon - from Greek callis, beauty and stemon, stamen, referring to the flowers of the plant.
  • Castanea - chestnut
  • Cedrus - cedar

Botanist names

Latinised names for a genus or species often refer to plant collectors, nurserymen, botanists or mycologist. Sometimes because they discovered the plant, sometimes named by others in their honour.

  • Armandii - after Armand David (Pere David), French botanist (1826-1900)
  • Battandieri - after Jules Aime Battandier (1848-1922), botanist, pharmacist and expert on the flora of Algeria.
  • Baumann - after French botanist and scientific illustrtor Constantin Auguste Napoléon Baumann (1804-1884)
  • Bolanderi - after Henry Nicholas Bolander, (1831-97)a German-American botanist. e.g. pinus contorta bolanderi.
  • Breweriana - after William Henry Brewer, American botanist (1828 - 1910)

Place names

Latinised names for a genus or species occasionally refer to places around the world.

  • Amurense - native to the Amur region of Manchuria. e.g. Phellodendron amurense
  • Andina - of the Andes. e.g. prumnopitys andina, the Chilean plum yew
  • Beuvronensis a after Beuvron in France. e.g. Pinus sylvestris beuvronensis, Dwarf Scots pine.
  • Cappadocicum - after Cappadocia in Turkey. e.g. Acer cappadocicum
  • Castanea comes from Castonis, a Town in Thessaly in Greece where the tree was grown for its chestnuts

Botany

  • 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.
  • Acuminate - tapering to a point (leaves)
  • Adaxial- on the same side as the axis, on a leaf the upper side. (cf abaxial)

General terms

  • Ancient tree. A tree in the third or final stage of its life (this stage can go on for decades or centuries); old relative to others of the same species; interesting biologically, aesthetically or culturally because of its great age.
  • Ancient Woodland Ancient woods are defined as those where there has been continuous woodland cover since at least 1600 AD.
  • Veteran tree. Veteran trees are survivors that have developed some of the features found on ancient trees. However, veteran trees are usually only in their second or mature stage of life.
  • Biological classification (taxonomy): Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
  • Boltwood - hardwood cut into bolts - usually 4' lengths - to be processed as paper pulp, or items such as dowels, spools and clothespins.
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