GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL, TERMS 



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(corms) of Cogswellia farinosa or 

 the moniliform pods, of certain spe- 

 cies of corydalis; torose in an ex- 

 treme degree. 



Mono-: A prefix (Greek) signifying 

 one. 



Monocotyledon: A plant having but 

 one cotyledon, or seed leaf, as a 

 grass, sedge, rush, lily, palm, etc. 

 The monocotyledons are one of the 

 two main divisions of angiosperms, 

 the other being the dicotyledons. 



Monoecious: Literally, in one house. 

 Having the flowers differentiated as 

 to sex, the staminate (male) and 

 pistillate (female) flowers in sepa- 

 rate inflorescences, but borne on 

 the same individual plant, as dis- 

 tinct from one-sexed, or dioecious 

 plants, and hermaphrodites, or 

 plants having perfect flowers (con- 

 taining both pistils and stamens). 

 Many of our most important Ameri- 

 can trees, such as pines, oaks, and 

 birches, are monoecious. 



Monostichous : Borne on one side of an 

 axis ; 1-sided, as the inflorescence of 

 blue grama. Same as secund. 



Morphology: The science of form and 

 structure. Plant morphology is 

 sometimes called structural botany; 

 it deals with the forms of plants 

 and of their organs, their anatomy 

 (gross morphology), relationships, 

 and development. Systematic bot- 

 any (taxonomy) is based on mor- 

 phology. Physiology differs in that 

 it deals with the functions, life proc- 

 esses, and activities of plants rather 

 than with form and structure. Cy- 

 tology (cell science) and histology 

 (microscopic anatomy) deal with 

 the microscopic morphology of the 

 plant 



Mucro: A sharp, straight point, espe- 

 cially if abrupt and short. 



Figure 41. — T hree 

 types of terminal 

 pointing, as in 

 leaves, leaflets, pet- 

 als, and sepals ; A, 

 Mucronate; B, 

 apiculate ; C, cus- 

 pidate 



Mucronate: Ending in a mucro, or 

 sharp point, especially if the tip is 

 abrupt, short, and small. (Fig. 41, 

 A.) 



Multi-: A prefix (Latin) signifying 



many or numerous. 

 Muricate: Rough with short hard 



prominences. (Fig. 42.) 



Figure 42. — Muri- 

 cate nutlet (seed), 

 as in certain spe- 

 cies of Amsinckia 

 and other western 

 annuals of the 

 borage family 



Muticous: Awnless, pointless, or un- 

 armed. Literally, docked. 



Mycelium: The interwoven hyphal tis- 

 sue composing the vegetative thal- 

 lus, or body, of a higher fungus and 

 from which the sporophores, or re- 

 productive parts, are produced. In 

 mushrooms it is the cobwebby 

 " spawn " of the seedsman, consist- 

 ing of an entangled subterranean 

 mass of hyphas, or filaments. 



Mycorrhiza: Literally, fungus root. A 

 symbiotic (or possibly sometimes 

 parasitic) relationship or associa- 

 tion between a fungus and the root 

 of some higher plant. Beeches, 

 oaks, birches, conifers, orchids, and 

 heaths are among the plants which 

 provide familiar examples of this 

 condition. Mycorrhizas are either: 

 (1) Ectotrophic, or external, the 

 fungal hyphae, or filaments, forming 

 a mass about the root tips, or (2) 

 endotrophic, or internal, the myce- 

 lium of the fungus occupying the 

 parenchyma of the roots of the 

 flowering plant. 



N. s., or n. ser.: New series; n. s. is 

 also occasionally used for new 

 species. 



N. sp.: New species; also abbreviated 

 sp. nov., nov. sp., and occasionally 

 n. s. 



Nanism: Dwarfishness or dwarfing; a 

 depauperate state of a plant, such 

 as at alpine elevations. Some writ- 

 ers, however, prefer to distinguish 

 between nanism and depauperation, 

 using the former term for plants 

 whose diminutive size is hereditary, 

 depauperate plants being starved 

 but nonhereditary forms dwarfed by 

 unfavorable growth conditions. 



Nat.: Natural, nature. 



Nectar: The sugary exudation of cer- 

 tain flower glands (nectaries), at- 



