A SHORT GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS xxi 



INSECTIVOROUS plants are those which absorb nutriment from flies and other 



insects. 

 INTERNODE, the portion of a stem between the attachment of two alternate 



leaves. 



INVOLUCEL, the involucre of a partial umbel. 



INVOLUCRE, the whorl of bracts below an inflorescence or below a single flower. 

 INVOLUTE, rolled from the back of anything, as towards the upper side of 



a leaf. 

 IRREGULAR, unequally divided. 



KEEL, the two lower united petals of Leguminous flowers ; keeled is also applied 

 as an adjective to certain leaves. 



LABELLUM or LABEL, the lower lip of Orchids, Labiates, etc. 



LACINIATE, when leaf-lobes are narrow and very irregular. 



LAMINA, the blade or broad part of a leaf. 



LANCEOLATE, tapering at both ends, but more so at the upper end ; a somewhat 



comprehensive term applied to leaves, etc., which are about three or more 



times as long as broad. 



LEAFLETS, the subdivisions of compound leaves. 

 LEGUME, a one-celled and two-valved seed-vessel with the seeds along the inner 



angle, as a Pea-pod. 



LIGULATE, strap-shaped ; not very narrow nor long. 

 LIGULE, a small membranous bract embracing the stem of grasses and forming 



part of the sheath. 



LIMB, the broader part of a petal or leaf. 

 LINEAR, very narrow and long, and with parallel edges. 

 LOBES, the division, of a leaf, calyx, or corolla in a broad sense. 

 LYRATE, applied to a pinnatifid leaf with a rounded terminal lobe and smaller 



divisions towards the base, as in Geum silvaticum. 



MEMBRANOUS, thin and transparent like a membrane. 



MIDRIB, the principal vein of a leaf. 



MONOCOTYLEDON, a plant having only one seed-leaf. Grasses, Sedges, Lilies, 



and many bulbous and tuberous plants are Monocotyledons. 

 MONCECIOUS plants are those which have the stamens and pistil in separate 



flowers, but on the same plant. 

 MUCRONATE, suddenly terminated by a short and stiff point or needle, called a 



mucro. In leaves it is the prolongation of the midrib. 

 MULTIFID, divided into many parts. 



NATURALISED, of foreign origin, but established and growing naturally in a 



country. 



NECTARY, an organ secreting nectar or honey. 

 NITROGENOUS, containing nitrogen. 

 NODE, the point of insertion of a leaf on a stem. 

 NUT, a dry fruit with a hard, woody shell or pericarp. 



OB, in conjunction with terms means inverted, e.g. obovate. 



OBCORDATE, inversely heart-shaped. 



OBLONG, long, oval, equally broad at each end. 



OBOVATE, inversely egg-shaped, with the attachment at the narrow end. 



OBTUSE, more or less rounded at the top. 



OFFSET, the bud at the end ol a runner or stolon. 



OPPOSITE, applied to leaves which are in pairs at the same level on the stem ; 



cf. Alternate, 



ORBICULAR, round, spherical. 

 OVARY, a carpel enclosing one or more ovules. 

 OVATE, egg-shaped. 

 OVULE, the embryo seed enclosed in the ovary. 



