GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS 



relates to the building up or con- 

 structive processes. 



Anatropous: Upturned or inverted; 

 said especially of ovules. An ana- 

 tropous ovule has its micropyle (ori- 

 fice through which the pollen tube 

 fertilizes the embryo) bent down 

 and adjoining the funicle, or funic- 

 ulus (ovule stem), to which it 

 more or less adheres as a raphe. 



Androgynous: A term applied to those 

 sedges (Carex spp.) which have 

 male and female flowers in the same 

 spike but the male flowers upper- 

 most, so that only the lower part of 

 the spike bears fruit. The converse 

 of gynaecandrous. 



Angiosperm: A member of the Angio- 

 spermae, or angiosperms, the larger 

 of the two groups (of which the 

 other is the Gymnospermae) into 

 which flowering, or seed-producing, 

 plants are divided. Angiosperms 

 have their seeds inclosed in an 

 ovary. 



Annual: Enduring for not more than 

 a year. A plant which completes its 

 entire life cycle from germinating 

 seedling to seed production and 

 death within a year. It is, of 

 course, somewhat difficult to draw a 

 sharp line, especially in warmer and 

 drier countries, between annuals and 

 biennials. In colder climates typi- 

 cal annuals do not survive the win- 

 ter, but the so-called winter annuals 

 germinate in late fall or spring, are 

 dormant through the winter, and 

 complete their life history the follow- 

 ing spring. Annual is often ex- 

 pressed by the symbol © or ©. 



Annular: Ringlike; in the form of a 

 ring (Latin, annulus). 



Anther: The essential 

 or pollen-bearing part 

 of the stamen; a 

 (usually 2-celled) pol- 

 len sac. Fig. 4.) 



Antheridium: (pi. 4a) : 

 The male organ of re- 

 production in ferns 

 and mosses, corre- 

 sponding to the an- 

 ther of a flowering 

 plant. 



Anthesis: Flowering; 



the time or action when the floral 

 envelope opens, the pollen is ripe, 

 and the stigma is in condition to 

 receive it. 



Apiculate: Ending in a short, sharp, 

 abrupt, rather soft tip ; said often of 

 leaves, leaflets, and sepals which 

 have the midrib prolonged a little 



Figure 4. — 

 a, anther ; 

 6, upper 

 portion of 

 filament 



into a short, somewhat awnlike but 

 not rigid tip. (Fig. 5, A.) 



Figure 5. — Three 

 types of terminal 

 pointing, as in 

 leaves, leaflets, pet- 

 als, and sepals : A, 

 Apiculate ; B, cus- 

 pidate ; C, mucro- 

 nate 



Appressed: Lying flat or closely against 

 another organ or part ; not spread- 

 ing; said, for example, of leaves 

 against the stem, and of branches of 

 the inflorescence to its main axis. 



Approximate: Situated close together, 

 but not united ; " next to " or " near 

 to." 



Aquatic: Of or pertaining to water; 

 growing in water. A plant (or ani- 

 mal) inhabiting water. 



Arachnoid: Beset 

 with cobwebby 

 hairs (Greek, 

 arachnion, a 

 spider's web) ; 

 as, for example, 

 the arachnoid 

 lemma of Ken- 

 tucky blue- 

 grass. (Fig. 6.) 



Arboreous: Tree- 

 like, having the 

 form, size, dura- 

 tion, or struc- 

 ture of a tree as 

 distinguished 

 from an herb or 

 shrub. Also 



(1) of, pertaining to, frequenting, or 

 growing on trees; (2) wooded, or 

 abounding in trees. 



Arborescent: Treelike in size or form, 

 or both. Literally, "becoming a 

 tree " ; strictly, arborescent repre- 

 sents a stage below that of arbore- 

 ous, but it is now commonly used, 

 instead of that term, for plants hav- 

 ing the tree habit and size. 



Archegonium (pi. -da) : The female re- 

 productive organ in ferns, mosses, 

 and their allies, analogous to the 

 pistil in a flowering plant. 



Arcuate: Bow-shaped, or bowlike. 



Areola (pi. -ae) : A small open space; 

 specifically: (1) In leaves, a space 



Figure 6. — Lemma 

 of Kentucky blue- 

 grass (Poa prar 

 tensis) showing 

 arachnoid (cob- 

 webby) hairs at 

 base 



