GLOSSARY 
Abortive. Imperfectly developed, as in abortive stamens. 
Absorption. Act of taking in substances through the tissues. 
Accessory fruits. Fruits reénforced by ripening of stem or other struc- 
tures together with ordinary fruits, as in strawberry, apple, pear, quince. 
Adventitious buds. Buds that spring from various parts of the root 
or stem, not from nodes. 
Aérial roots. Roots that develop in the air. 
Akene. A small, dry, one-seeded fruit in which the ovary wall adheres 
to the seed, as in sunflower, dandelion, and grains of common cereals. 
Albuminous seeds. Seeds that, when ripe, contain endosperm. 
Aleurone. Grains of definite structure containing protein food; aleu- 
rone grains are often found in a single layer of regular cells just within 
the seed coat. 
Alternation of generations. Alternating of a sexual and a sexless gen- 
eration in the life cycle of a plant. 
Ament. The flower cluster of trees and shrubs, such as oak, willow, etc. 
Anabolism. Building-up processes; making and assimilating food 
materials. 
Anaérobes. Plants that cannot carry on their life processes in presence 
of ordinary air. 
Anatropous (turned up). Applied to ovules or seeds that grow in an 
inverted position. 
Andrecium (male household). Stamens of a flower collectively; this 
name was given when stamens were thought to be male sex organs. 
Anemophilous flowers (wind-loving flowers). Those whose fertiliza- 
tion is effected by means of the wind. 
Angiosperms (inclosed seeds). One of the two groups of spermato- 
phytes (seed plants). 
Annulus (a ring). The elastic ring of cells around the sporangium 
in ferns. 
Anther. The pollen-bearing part of the stamen. 
Antheridiophores. Stalks upon which antheridia are borne. 
Antheridium ; pl. antheridia. The male sex organ in the lower groups 
of plants. 
Antherozoid. See Sperm. 
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