116 
GLOSSARY. 
Oleaginous. Containing oil; partaking of the nature of oil. 
Oleraceous. Esculent; fit to eat. 
Opercular. Having a membranous covering, or lid. 
Orbicular. Having a flat surface, with a circular outline. 
Ossified. Hardened to the consistence of bone. 
Ovarium. The immature seed-vessel. 
Ovate. Egg-shaped. 
Ovules. The embryo seeds, contained in the ovarium. 
Paleaceous. Clothed with dry, chaff-like scales. 
Palmate. Divided into several deep lobes, resembling the fingers 
of a hand. 
PanduriforM. Fiddle-shaped. 
Panicle. A kind of inflorescence, in which the flowers are ar¬ 
ranged on a branching spike, the branches decreasing in size as 
they approach the upper part of the main stem, so that the 
whole assumes a pyramidal form. 
Papilionaceous. Butterfly-shaped. 
Papillose, Papulose. Having small protuberances, resembling 
nipples. 
Parenchyma. The soft part or cellular tissue of plants, as the 
internal portion of a leaf. 
Patent. Spreading; broadly expanded. 
Patulous. Spreading in an inferior degree ; slightly expanded. 
Pectinate. Cut deeply, like the teeth of a comb. 
Pedicle. The small footstalk of a flower. 
Pedicellate. Attached by a short footstalk. 
Peduncle. The principal stem to which flowers are united by 
their pedicles. 
Pellucid. Semi-transparent. 
Peltate. Descriptive of a leaf whose footstalk is attached to 
the centre, instead of the margin. 
Perennial. Continuing for several years. 
