Glossary 



(Based primarily on the compilation by Herbert L. Mason in "A Flora of the 

 Marshes of California" (1957); with permission.) 



A-. A prefix denoting without, such as asexual. 



Abaxial. Pertaining to the side of an organ away from the axis, such as the lower 

 surface of a leaf (fig. 256). Compare Adaxial. 



Abbreviated. Shortened, as when one part is shorter than another. 



Abscission. Act or process of cutting off. Abscising: to cut off. 



Acaulescent. Seemingly without a stem; term applied to a plant which is appar- 

 ently stemless, the stem being very short or subterranean (fig. 789). 



Accrescent. Becoming enlarged, as do certain parts of a flower after anthesis. 



Accumbent. Lying against anything; applied to cotyledons having edges against 

 the radicle. 



Acerose. With a sharp, slender, needlelike point. 



Achene. A hard, dry indehiscent, one-seeded fruit with a single cavity (fig. 789). 



Acicular. Needle-shaped. 



Acropetal. Produced in a succession toward the apex, as applied to the develop- 

 ment of organs. 



Actinomorphic. Exhibiting radial symmetry, as a regular flower. 



Acumen. A tapering point. A point the margins of which are not exactly straight 

 but bow inward. 



Acuminate. Tapering gradually to a sharp point at the end (fig. 787). 



Acute. Ending in a point which is less than a right angle, but not so tapering as 

 "acuminate" (fig. 787). 



Adaxial. Pertaining to the side of an organ toward the axis, such as the upper 

 surface of a leaf (fig. 256). Compare Abaxial. 



Adnate. United to an organ of a different kind, as are the stamens in flowers of 

 the Scrophulariaceae (epipetalous), or stipules in certain members of Potamo- 

 geton (fig. 32) . 



Adventitious. Occurring out of regular order in either time or place; term applied, 

 for example, to a bud developing on a tree trunk. 



Adventive. Applied to an introduced plant, not definitely established or natural- 

 ized. 



Aerial. Epiphytic plants; plants or parts of plants living above the surface of the 

 ground or water. 



Aestivation. The arrangement of the perianth in the bud. 



Alate. Winged. 



Alkaline. Of, pertaining to, or having the properties of an alkali (a soluble min- 

 eral salt present in some soils of arid regions). 



Alliaceous. Having the odor of onions. 



Alluvial. Soils deposited by running water. 



Alpine. Strictly applicable to plants growing above timber line. 



Alternate. Said of leaves occurring one at a node, those of successive nodes form- 

 ing a definite sequence around the stem: said also of members of adjacent 

 whorls in the flower when any member of one whorl is in front of or behind 

 the junction of two adjacent members of the succeeding whorl. 



1705 



