GLOSSARY 349 



Epiphyte. A plant which grows upon other plants. 



Fertilization. The act of uniting an egg and a sperm. 



Fibrovascular bundles (fiber vessels). The strands that make up the 

 framework of higher plants. 



Filament (a thread). The stalk of the stamen that supports the 

 anther ; also the individual threads of algae or fungi. 



Filiform. Thread-like. 



Fission (splitting). Cell division resulting in division into halves. 



Fleshy. Thick, succulent. 



Flowering glume. In grasses, the bract that subtends each flower, 

 sometimes called lower palet. 



Formation. An ecological group. It signifies a well-defined assem- 

 blage of plants characteristic of some kind of station. 



Frond (a leaf). A name given to the leaf of ferns. 



Fruit. The ripened ovary and its contents. 



Funiculus (a slender rope). The stalk of an ovule or seed. 



Gametangium (gamete vessel). The specialized organ for production 

 of gametes. 



Gamete. A reproductive cell which ordinarily becomes functional 

 only upon union with another. As a result of this union a sexual spore 

 is formed. 



Gametophyte (gamete plant). The sexual stage of an alternating plant. 



Gemma (a bud) ; pi. gemmae. In bryophytes, many-celled buds special- 

 ized for vegetative propagation. 



Generative cell. The cell within the male gametophyte of spermato- 

 phytes (usually within the microspore wall) which divides to form the 

 two male cells. 



Geotropism (turning toward the earth). The tendency of organs or 

 portions of organs to go downward. 



Glaucous (pale green, gray). Whitened with a bloom, like that on 

 a cabbage leaf. 



Glume (a husk). A chaff-like bract belonging to the inflorescence of 

 grasses ; the outer glumes subtend the spikelet ; the flowering glume 

 is the bract of the flower. 



Gluten (glue). A term used for the glue-like products of plants, 

 especially of seeds. 



Grain. A seed-like fruit, like those of grasses, with pericarp grown 

 fast to the seed ; also any small, rounded body, as of starch. 



Growing point. The group of meristem cells at the growing tip of 

 an organ, from which the various tissues arise. 



Guard cells. The cells (usually two) which open and close a stoma. 



Gymnosperms (naked seeds). One of the two groups of sperinato- 

 phytes (seed plants). 



