244 
stipel: pl. stipellae; a small appendage growing at 
the base of the leaf-stalk (petiolule) in a 
compound leaf (Fig. 80). 
stipules: two small appendages growing at the base 
of the leaf-stalk or petiole (Fig. 80). 
stolon: an above ground stem, either prostrate or 
arched, which produces roots and shoots at the 
nodes. 
stramineous: straw-coloured. 
striae: striations; fine, parallel, longitudinal markings 
or grooves, hence striate. 
strigose: of indumentum or hairs that are coarse and 
more or less straight. 
style: that part of the gynoecium connecting the 
stigma with the ovary (Figs. 15,79). 
subglaucous: barely glaucous. 
suborbicular: almost round. 
subulate: awl-shaped; tapering very gradually from 
base to apex and often sharply-pointed, but not 
as fine as a needle (Fig. 80). 
suburceolate: nearly urn-shaped. 
succulent: fleshy in texture. 
suffruticose: of a plant with woody stem-bases and 
herbaceous apical portions. 
superior: of flowers with floral members arising 
below the ovary (Fig. 79). 
sympodial: of branching, where the growing point 
ceases to be active and growth is continued by 
one (or more) axillary shoots, as in Terminalia 
and Vavaea. 
syncarpous: an ovary, pistil, or fruit composed of 
two or more united carpels. 
syngenesious: fused to one another as with the anthers 
of the Asteraceae. 
tendrils: filiform organs by which climbing plants 
cling to some object within reach, arising by 
modification of stipules, leaves or branches. 
tepal: part of a perianth where these are similar in 
size, form and coloration. 
terete: cylindrical but circular in cross-section. 
terminal: at the apex. 
tetradynamous: with six stamens, two outer shorter 
than four inner, as in Brassicaceae. 
thorn: a spine. 
tomentellous: of hairs when minutely tomentose. 
tomentose: of hairs when they are closely matted and 
short. 
tomentum: an indumentum of closely matted short 
hairs. 
torulose: with irregular swellings at close intervals; 
cylindrical but the diameter varying regularly; 
moniliform, as in pods of Acacia torulosa (Fig. 
10). 
torus: part of floral axis from which arise the sepals, 
petals, stamens and pistil; receptacle. 
trailing: with long prostrate stems. 
tremelloid: jelly-like or gelatinous. 
trichome: a general term for an epidermal outgrowth, 
including hairs, bristles, colleters, papillae and 
scales. 
triquetrous: 3-angled, the angles usually sharp; 
having three acute angles with 3 concave faces. 
truncate: ending abruptly, as though cut off (Fig. 80). 
tuber: a storage organ formed by the swelling of an 
underground root or stem. 
tubercule: a small rounded protuberance. 
turbinate: top-shaped, obconical. 
turgid: swollen. 
twiner: a plant rooted in the ground and climbing 
primarily by twisting of the stem apices. 
umbel: inflorescence where the divergent branches 
or rays start from the same point; in a simple 
umbel each ray bears one flower (Figs 48,79). 
umbelliform: like an umbel. 
umbo: a boss; rounded with a projecting point in the 
centre; a small conical projection from the 
surface. 
unifoliolate: of a compound leaf with a rachis and 
one leaflet (Fig. 80). 
unilocular: with a single cavity, as of the ovary. 
unisexual: flowers with pistils or stamens only. 
united: joined together, in whole or in part. 
valvate: with the edges meeting but not overlapping. 
velutinous: velvety; dense, soft nearly erect hairs. 
venation: the disposition of veins, especially in a leaf. 
vernicose: varnished. 
verrucose: warty. 
versatile: attached so as to allow free movement (Fig. 
79). 
vesicular: bladder-like. 
vestiture: a covering, usually hairs in the collective 
sense. 
villous: long, soft, more or less erect hairs, moderately 
dense. 
viscid: sticky. 
whorl: where three or more organs arise from the 
same node (Fig. 80). 
wing: the lateral petals of a flower of the Fabaceae 
which lie alongside the keel (Fig. 15). 
zygomorphic: with a single lateral plane of symmetry, 
especially in reference to the corolla, as in 
flowers of Fabaceae. 
