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GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS 



Disk, disc. A more or less fleshy or elevated development 



of the receptacle about the pistil; receptacle in the 



head of Compositse. 

 Disk-flowers. The tubular flowers in the center of heads of 



Compositse, as distinguished from the ray-flowers. 

 Dissected. Divided into many slender segments. 

 Dissepiment. A partition, particularly in an ovary or fruit. 

 Distinct. Separate; not united with parts in the same 



series. 



Divided. Separated to the base. 

 Division. Propagation by means of separating the root 



system or rhizome system into parts; cutting up the 



plant into several root-bearing parts or pieces, as when 



one rhubarb plant is made into two or more. 

 Dorsal. Back; relating to the back or outer surface of a 



part or organ. 



Dorsiferous. Bearing anything on the back. 

 Dorsifixed. Attached by the back. 

 Dorsoventral. Literally, back-front; placed with reference 



to the back or front or to both. 

 Double. Said of flowers that have more than the usual 



number of floral envelopes, particularly of petals; full. 

 Downy. Covered with very short and weak soft hairs. 

 Drupe. A fleshy one-seeded indehiseent fruit, with seed 



inclosed in a stony endocarp; stone-fruit. 

 Drupelet. One drupe in a fruit made up of aggregate 



drupes, as in the raspberry. 

 Dumose. Low and branching, as a bush. 



E- or Ex-. In Latin-formed words, usually denoting, as 

 a prefix, that parts are missing, as exstipulate, without 

 stipules, estriate, without stripes. 



Ecalcarate. Without calcar or spur. 



Ecology. Study of habits and modes of life of animals and 

 plants. 



Ecostate. Without ribs. 



Edentate. Without teeth. 



Effuse. Loosely spreading; very diffuse. 



Eglandulose. Without glands. 



Elliptic. A flat part or body that is oval and narrowed to 

 rounded ends. 



Elongate. Lengthened; stretched out. 



Embryo. The plantlet in the seed. 



Endocarp. The inner layer or part of a pericarp. 



Endogen. Term applied to stems having scattered bundles, 

 as of Indian corn, not appropriate, and now little used. 

 See Exogen. 



Endosperm. Starch or other food outside or around the 

 embryo ; albumen. 



Ensiform, ensate. Sword-shaped; long, flat, 2-edged, 

 nearly or quite straight, with a sharp point. 



Entire. Margin not in any way indented; whole. 



Environment. Surroundings; conditions in which organ- 

 isms live and grow. 



Ephemeral. Persisting for one day only, as flowers of 

 spiderwort. 



Epi. A Greek prefix signifying on or upon. 



Epicarp. The outer layer or surface of the pericarp. 



EpichUe. The upper part of the jointed lip of an orchid. 



Epicotyl. That part of the caulicle lying above the coty- 

 ledons. 



Epidermis. Superficial layer of cells and underneath the 

 cuticle. 



Epigeal. Cotyledons rising into the air in germination. 



Epigeous. Close upon the ground rather than underneath. 



Epigynous. Borne on the ovary; used of floral parts when 

 ovary is inferior and flower not perigynous. 



Epipetalous. On a petal. 



Epiphyllous. On a leaf. 



Epiphyte. Air-plant; a plant growing on another or on 

 some other elevated support. 



Equitant. Sitting astride ; used for conduplicate leaves that 

 stand inside each other in two ranks, as in Iris. 



Eroslrate. Without a beak. 



Essential organs. Stamens and pistils. 



Evergreen. Remaining green throughout the year. 



Exalbuminous. Seeds without albumen or endosperm. 

 Excentric. Out of or away from the center. 

 Excurrent. The trunk or leader continuing through the top. 

 Exfoliating. Coming off in thin layers, as the bark of birch 



and other plants. 



Exocarp. The outside part of a pericarp. 

 Exogen, exogenous. Growing and increasing in diameter 



by layers on the exterior of the woody cylinder, in 



distinction from endogens. 

 Exserted. Sticking out; projecting beyond, as stamens 



from a perianth. 

 Exsiccated. Dry or dried. 

 Exstipulate. Without stipules. 

 Extrorse. Looking or facing outward. 

 Eye. The marked center of a flower; a bud on a tuber, as 



on a potato; a single-bud cutting. 



Fades. The general appearance or "looks" of a plant; or 

 the characteristic appearance of a plant society. 



Farinaceous. Containing starch, or starch-like materials. 



Fasciated. Much flattened ; an abnormal or teratological 

 widening and flattening of the stem. 



Fascicle. A condensed or close cluster, as of flowers. 



Feminine. Pistillate (in higher plants) . 



Fertile. Said of pollen-bearing stamens and seed-bearing 

 fruits. 



Fertilization. Impregnation of the ovule; the act of union 

 of sperm and egg cells, in the higher plants taking 

 place within the ovule: fecundation. 



Fetid. Having a disagreeable odor. 



Fibrillose. With fine fibers or threads. 



Fibrous. Fiber-like; containing fibers or thread-like parts. 



Fibro-vascular. Made up of both fibers and ducts; combina- 

 tion of fibrous and vascular structure. 



Filament. Stalk of the anther. 



Filiform. Thread-like; long and very slender. 



Fimbriate. Fringed. 



Fimbrillate. Minutely fringed. 



Fistular. Cylindrical and hollow. 



Flaccid. Soft; lax and weak; not rigid. 



FlageUiform. Whip-form; long and slender like a lash. 



Flagging. Wilting; said particularly of newly made cuttings 

 and recently transplanted plants. 



Flexuous. Having a more or less zigzag or wavy form ; said 

 of stems of various kinds. 



Floccose. With tufts or flocks of soft wool or woolly hair. 



Flora. The plant population of a given region; also a book 

 describing this population. 



Florets. Individual flowers of composites and grasses; also 

 other very small flowers that make up a very dense 

 form of inflorescence. 



Floriferous. Flower-bearing. 



Foliaceous. Leaf-like; said particularly of sepals and calyx- 

 lobes and of bracts that in texture, size or color look 

 like small or large leaves. 



-foliate. In combinations, -leaved; having leaves; as tri- 

 foliate, three-leaved. 



-foliolate. Having leaflets; as trifoliolate, of three leaflets. 



Follicle. Dry, dehiscent pericarp opening only on the front 

 suture. 



Fotticular. With follicles; follicle-like. 



Foramen. An aperture or opening. 



Forked. Branching or divided into nearly equal parts or 

 members. 



Fornicate. Arched. 



Free. Not joined to other organs; as petals free from the 

 stamens or calyx. 



Frond. Leaf of fern; sometimes used in the sense of foliage. 



Frosted. With a more or less shining or crystallized 

 white covering. 



Fructification. The act or process of fruiting; also the 

 fruiting organ or organs. 



Fruit. The ripened pericarp or pericarps with the adnate 

 parts; the seed-bearing organ. 



Fruticose. Shrubby or shrub-like in the sense of being 

 woody. 



