GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS 



35 



where is touches the soil, there send- 

 ing up new shoots which, later, be- 

 come separate plants. Many plants 

 multiply vegetatively in this way. 

 Stoloniferous : Bearing stolons. 



Figure 71. — Stipules : 

 A, A pair of stipules 

 united for most of 

 their length and ad- 

 nate to the base of 

 the petiole; 6, con- 

 nate-perfoliate stip- 

 ules 



Stoma (pi. -ata) : One of the small 

 openings (breathing pores) on the 

 surface of a leaf, especially on the 

 under side, whereby contact is estab- 

 lished with the atmosphere, and 

 essential in such vital processes as 

 respiration, photosynthesis, and 

 transpiration. 



Stomate: The same as stoma. 



Striate: Marked with slender longi- 

 tudinal grooves or furrows ; minutely 

 channel streaked. 



Strict: Narrow and erect; said, for 

 example, of panicles, the branches 

 of which are erect and closely ap- 

 pressed to the main axis of the in- 

 florescence, giving a spikelike ap- 

 pearance. 



Strigose: Beset with appressed, rigid 

 hairs. 



Strobile: The (often conical) dry mul- 

 tiple fruit of pines, spruces, firs, 

 hemlocks, and other conifers, con- 

 sisting of numerous partially over- 

 lapping (imbricated) scales arranged 

 symmetrically around a central 

 axis and bearing naked seeds on 

 their upper surface. Same as cone. 



Style: The stalklike and often slender 

 portion of the pistil connecting the 

 stigma with the ovary. (Fig. 66, 

 B, 6.) 



Sub-: A prefix signifying nearly or 

 below. 



Subacute: Acutish; somewhat acute. 



Subcordate: Shallowly heart shaped; 

 shallowly 2-lobed at the base. 



Subcoriaceous: Somewhat leathery in 

 texture. 



Subgenus: A division of a genus; a 

 group of closely related species 



within a genus. Raspberries and 

 blackberries, by way of illustration, 

 are subgenera of the genus Rubus ; 

 cherries (Oerasus) and chokecher- 

 ries (Padus) are subgenera of the 

 plum genus (Prunus). Subgenera 

 furnish occasion for a large num- 

 ber of plant synonyms since many 

 botanists will prefer to raise them 

 to generic rank and, of course, there 

 will never be complete unanimity of 

 opinion as to what are genera and 

 what are subgenera. Subgenera, es- 

 pecially of very large genera, are 

 sometimes divided into' sections. 



Subspecies: A taxonomic rank imme- 

 diately below a species; by some 

 authors regarded as a synonym of 

 variety, but if subspecies and va- 

 rieties are both recognized, then va- 

 riety ranks below subspecies. 



Subtended: Literally, held (from) un- 

 derneath; included in an axil. In- 

 closed or embraced. As the florets 

 of a grass spikelet subtended by 

 glumes, or the umbel of an umbel- 

 lifer subtended by an involucre. 



Subulate: Awl shaped. 



Subcylindric : Almost cylindrical but 

 tapering somewhat ; terete. 



Succession: A progressive change in 

 the vegetation of an area or region ; 

 complete and continuous invasion re- 

 sulting in radical changes from the 

 original ground cover. For exam- 

 ple, a forested area is denuded of its 

 timber by fire and a succession of 

 shrub or weed species may replace, 

 at least temporarily, the forest. 



Succulent : Juicy, watery, or pulpy ; as 

 the succulent stems of cacti or the 

 succulent fruits of the apple family 

 (Malaceae). 



Sucker: A branch or shoot from a 

 creeping underground stem which 

 ascends above ground and tends 

 eventually to become a separate in- 

 dividual plant. Suckers are common 

 in many woody plants, such as 

 aspen, blackberry, elder, poplar, rose, 

 sassafras, and willow. 



Suffrutescent : Literally, becoming un- 

 dershrubby. A term applied to per- 

 ennial plants which do not die down 

 quite to the ground each year, but 

 the stem bases, above the ground, 

 tend to be at least a little woody 

 and perennial. Marking the first 

 stage in the transition zone between 

 true herbs and true shrubs, and fol- 

 lowed by the suffruticose. 



Suffruticose : Literally, undershrubby. 

 Applied to low perennials the lower 

 parts of whose stems are truly 

 woody and perennial, but the upper 

 parts herbaceous. Marking approxi- 



