GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS. 21 



Rimcinate, a pinnatifid leaf with lobes pointing towards the base. 



Sagittate, arrow-shaped; applied to a leaf with two straight acute lobes at the 



base. 

 Samara, a dry indehiscent fruit with a membranous wing at one end. 

 Scabrous, rough to the touch, usually on account of very short stiff hairs. 

 Scale, (1) a reduced leaf; (2) any small scale-like organ. 

 Scape, a radical leafless flowerstalk. 



S carious, almost the same as membranous, but rather stiffer. 

 Scattered, when leaves are irregularly arranged round the stem. 

 Scorpioid cyme, the inflorescence of Borraginaceae, consisting of a succession of 



1 -flowered axes, which simulate a single axis, rolled up at the end, when 



in bud, like a scorpion's tail. It has the appearance of a 1-sided raceme, 



but the expansion of the flowers is centrifugal. 

 Scurfy, covered with minute loose scales. 



Sectile, subdivided into small parts, as the pollen-masses of some Orchids. 

 Seed, a ripened ovule, consisting usually of two coats, within which is the 



embryo, with or without albumen. 

 Segment, (1) each division of a pinnatisect leaf which reaches nearly or quite to 



the midrib, but is not separable without tearing; (2) each division of a 



perianth reaching to the base. 

 Sepal, one of the divisions of the calyx. 

 Septal placenta, when the placentas of a 2-celled ovary are attached to the 



partitions (septa). 

 Septate, divided by septa or partitions. 

 SepticidaJ, when a capsule splits open through the dissepiments, and the component 



carpels fall away separately. — Zygophyllum fruticulosum, Dodonaea 



bursariifolia, Euphorbia. 

 Septifragal, when the dissepiments remain attached to the axis of the capsule, 



but break away from the edges of the valves. — Dodonaea viscosa, Nicotiana 



suaveolens, Datura Stramonium. 

 Serrate, toothed like a saw. 

 Serrulate, when the teeth are very small. 

 Sessile, without any stalk. 

 Seta, a bristle or stiff hair. 

 Setaceous, bristle-like. 

 Silicule, siliqua, see pod. 

 Simple, when a leaf is not divided into leaflets, the opposite of compound, 



although a simple leaf may be entire, toothed, or lobed; (of other organs) 



not lobed, branched, divided, or compound; (of a flower or perianth) having 



the segments or lobes in one whorl or cycle. 

 Sinuate, leaf or other organ whose edge consists of shallow irregular lobes or 



teeth, with rounded spaces, called sinuses, between them. 

 Spathe, (1) two or more bracts enclosing the floors of Iridaceae; (2) a large 



bract enclosing the succulent flowerspike (spadix) of the Arum and Palm 



families. 

 Spathulate, a leaf broad towards the summit, narrowed lower down. 

 Species, a division of the genus, each species (group of individual plants) 



possessing characters which distinguish it from other species of the same 



genus. Each species bears two names, e.g., Eucalyptus rostrata, the first 



being the generic name, the second the specific one. 

 Spicate, arranged in a spike. 



Spike, an undivided floral axis (rhachis, peduncle) bearing sessile flowers. 

 S pikelet, a small spike bearing one or several flowers, occurring chiefly in the 



grass family. 

 Spine {thorn), a sharp point proceeding from the. stem or other organ and not 



detachable without tearing. 

 Spinule, a small spine. 

 Stamen, male organ of the flower, consisting of a short or long stalk (sometimes 



wanting) called the filament, which supports the anther. The latter 



consists of one or two pouches, or cells, containing the minute pollen- grains, 



by means of which the pistil is fertilised (fig. 2). 

 Staminodium, an abortive or rudimentary stamen. 

 Standard, the large posterior petal of Papilionatae (Leguminosae). 

 Stellate hairs, hairs with branches radiating like a star. 

 Stem-clasping (ampl exicaul) , when the base 1 of a sessile leaf clasps the stem. 



