568 GLOSSARY 
Neutral. Without stamens or pistils. 
Node. The part of a stem or branch at which a leaf or leaves are 
borne. 
Oblong. Longer than broad with sides nearly parallel. 
Obovate. Inversely ovate. 
Obovoid. Inversely ovoid. 
Obtuse. Blunt or rounded at apex. 
Ovary. The part of a pistil which contains the seeds. 
Ovate. Having an egg-shaped outline with the broader end at the base. 
Ovoid. Egg-shaped. 
Ovule. The body which after fertilization becomes the seed. 
Palea. The upper of the two bracts which inclose the flower in grasses. 
Palmate (leaf). With segments radiately diverging. 
Panicle. A somewhat loose and irregular compound flower cluster. 
Pappus. In Composite the bristles, awns, teeth, or scales which crown 
the achene. 
Parasite. A plant which grows upon other plants and absorbs their 
juices. 
Pedicel. The support of one of the flowers composing a flawer cluster. 
Peduncle. The stalk of a flower cluster or of a single flower. 
Perennial. Lasting year after year. 
Perfect (flower). Having both stamens and pistils. 
Perfoliate. A leaf so clasping the stem as to seem pierced by it. 
Perianth. The floral envelope, sepals and petals, regarded collectively. 
Persistent. Said of organs which remain attached to their place of 
growth after growth has ceased. 
Petal. One of the divisions of the inner floral envelope or corolla. 
Petiole. The footstalk of a leaf. 
Pinnate (leaf). Compound, with leaflets arranged along the sides 
of a common petiole. . 
Pinnatifid. Pinnately cleft. 
Pistil. The seed-bearing organ of a flower, consisting of ovary, stigma, 
and style, or the latter sometimes lacking. 
Pistillate. Having pistils; ordinarily used in the sense of having no 
“stamens. 
Pod. Any dry and dehiscent fruit. 
Pollen. The fertilizing grains borne in the anthers. 
Prickle. A sharp outgrowth from the bark of a stem, or on the surface 
or stalk of a leaf. 
Procumbent. Lying or trailing on the ground but without rooting 
at the nodes. 
Prostrate. Lying flat on the ground. 
