GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS

abruptly pinnate, when the leaflets are arranged in pairs along the rhachis of a compound leaf without a terminal one.

acaulescent, without stem or apparently so.

accrescent, applied to a calyx or corolla, enlarging after flowering.

achene, a dry indehiscent, one-seeded fruit.

acicular, needle-like.

aculeate, prickly and pointed.

acuminate, narrowed at the apex into a long point.

acute, tapering to a sharp point.

-adelphous, suffix used to show the number of bundles of stamens there are in a flower where these are joined by their filaments; see monadelphous, diadelphous, polyadelphous.

adhesion, the union of dissimilar parts of a flower, e.g., calyx and ovary.

adnate, attached through their whole length, usually the smaller to the greater.

adpressed, see appressed.

æstivation, the arrangement of sepals and petals in bud.

agglomerate, crowded together in a bunch.

alternate, applied to leaves when only one issues from each node and the next above or below is on another side of the stem.

amplexicaul, when a leaf, stipule or bract embraces the stem.

ampulliform, flask-shaped.

andrœcium, the male organs of a flower, considered as a whole.

-androus, suffix used to show the number of stamens, e.g., pentandrous, with 5 stamens.

annual, a plant which lives only one year.

anterior, in front.

anther, the upper part of a stamen, bearing pollen.

anticous, foremost.

apetalous, flowers without petals.

apex, the tip.

apiculate, with a small hard point at the tip.

appressed, pressed close to something else.

aril or arillus, a fleshy covering of some seeds.

aristate, when the point of a leaf is fine like a hair.

articulate, jointed and separating freely.

ascending, sloping upwards.

auricles, appendages at the base of the leaf-blade.

awn, a thread-like extension of a seed or other organ (as in barley).

axil, the angle formed at the attachment of a leaf or a flower to the stem.

axillary, arising from the axil.

axile, of ovules when attached to the central axis of the ovary.

barren, when a flower produces no seed or pollen.

basifixed, when an anther is attached by its base to the filament.

berry, a pulpy fruit containing one or several seeds.

biennial, a plant living for two years only.

bifid, 2-cleft.

bipinnate, when the divisions of a pinnate leaf are again pinnate (e.g. Acacia).

bipinnatifid, when the segments of a pinnatifid leaf are also pinnately lobed.

bipinnatipartite, when the segments of a pinnatipartite leaf are also deeply and pinnately lobed.

biternate, when the parts of a ternate leaf are also ternately divided.

blade (or lamina), the upper, usually broader part of a leaf.

bract, a small leaf, usually differing from foliage leaves in shape or colour, at the base of a flower stalk; also the divisions of an involucre.

bracteoles, the last minute bracts under each flower.

bud, a leaf or flower before it opens.

bulb, a modified, usually underground stem, more or less globose in shape, clothed with succulent leaves or scales (e.g., the Onion).

caducous, falling off early.

calyptrate, with hood-like covering on flower or fruit.

calyx, the outer envelope of a flower, made up of sepals.

campanulate, bell-shaped.

cancellate, resembling a grill, or latticed.

canescent, hoary.

capillary, hair-like, very fine.

capitate, arranged in a head.

capitulum or head, when several sessile (or nearly so) flowers are collected into a compact head-like cluster at the end of the axis.

capsule, a dry dehiscent seed-vessel composed of 2 or more carpels and usually containing several seeds.

carpel, the leaf of one of the leaves forming the ovary.

caudate, produced at the apex into a long, tail-like appendage.

cauline, growing from the stem.

cell, a unit of plant growth, also a subdivision of the ovary, e.g., 5-celled ovary.

ciliate, fringed with long hairs.

circinate, rolled up like the top of a bishop’s crozier.

cirrhate, with curled or forked tendrils.

cladode, a flattened branch taking on the appearance and functions of a leaf (e.g., Asparagus).

clavate, club-shaped, i.e., cylindrical, but getting broader at the apex.

claw, the narrowed base of a petal.

club-shaped, see clavate.

coccus, 1-seeded carpel of a dehiscent fruit.

column, applied to stamens and style when confluent, as in Asclepiadaceæ and Orchidaceæ.

compound inflorescence, when an inflorescence, such as a raceme, umbel, etc., is subdivided into subsidiary inflorescences, and forms a panicle, compound umbel, etc.

compound leaf, when a leaf is divided into segments right down to the midrib, so that each segment forms an individual leaflet which can drop off by itself at the fall of the leaves.

connate, when two or more like-parts of a flower are united.

connective, the portion of the anther which unites the two cells.

connivent, converging.

cordate, heart-shaped, i.e., of a leaf, with 2 rounded basal lobes and ovate, unless otherwise mentioned.

coriaceous, thick and tough, like leather.

corm, a bulb-shaped solid underground stem, in which reserve material is stored.

corolla, the inner envelope of a flower (not always present), made up of petals.

corona, a crown-like excrescence between corolla and stamens.

corymb, a raceme, the lower pedicels of which are gradually lengthened so as to bring all its flowers on the same level.

costate, ribbed.

cotyledon, one of the (or the) first seed-leaves.

crenate, with rounded teeth.

crenulate, with small rounded teeth.

culm, the stem of Bamboos.

cuneate, wedge-shaped.

cuspidate, tipped with a sharp point.

cyme, an inflorescence in which the flowers are produced centrifugally on successive lateral axes.

deciduous, applied to plants whose leaves are all shed at a certain season of the year.

decompound, several times subdivided or compound, applied to leaves or inflorescence.

decumbent, spreading horizontally, then turning upwards.

decurrent, applied to leaves, the margins of which run down the stem below the insertion of the petiole.

decussate, when leaves are in pairs successively at right angles to each other on the stem.

dehiscent, splitting (of fruits to let out the seeds).

dentate, dog-toothed, i.e., with teeth of equal sides.

denticulate, finely dog-toothed.

diadelphous, of stamens when they are joined by their filaments into two groups, e.g., some of the Papilionaceæ.

diandrous, with 2 stamens.

dichotomous, applied to a stem, branch or inflorescence which forks again and again.

dicotyledons, with two seed-leaves.

didymous, divided into two lobes, in pairs.

didynamous, with two long and two short stamens.

diffuse, widely and loosely spreading.

digitate, applied to a compound leaf, the leaflets of which spread like the fingers of a hand.

diœcious, of plants the stamens of which are in flowers on one individual and the ovary and style on another.

disc or disk, the receptacle on which are set flowers in a capitulum, as in Compositæ, or at the base of the ovary within the flower.

disc-florets, the regular tubular florets of certain Compositæ, which, if accompanied by ligulate florets, occupy the centre of the disc, while the latter are on the rim and called ray-florets.

distichous, arranged in the same plane, i.e., at two right angles to each other.

divaricate, widely spreading.

drupe, a fleshy indehiscent fruit containing a “stone” in which the seed is enclosed.

echinate, covered with prickles, like a hedgehog.

elliptical, shaped like an ellipse, oval.

emarginate, notched, usually at the apex of a leaf or petal.

ensiform, sword-shaped.

entire, applied to the margin of a leaf which is not toothed or notched.

epicalyx, applied to a row of bracts, sometimes joined together, outside the calyx, e.g., some of the Malvaceæ.

epigynous, apparently seated upon the ovary.

epipetalous, applied to stamens seated on the petals.

epiphyte, a plant which grows on another without being parasitic, e.g., some Orchids.

evergreen, applied chiefly to shrubs and trees which bear leaves all the year round.

exserted, protruding, applied chiefly to stamens which show outside the flower.

exstipulate, having no stipules.

extra-axillary, from outside the axil.

falcate, scythe- or sickle-shaped.

fascicled or fasciculate, in bundles or tufts.

fastigiate, with parallel erect clustered branches.

fertile, capable of bearing fruit, applied also to stamens bearing pollen.

-fid, a suffix, meaning split, e.g., bifid, split in two, trifid, split in three, etc.

filament, the stalk of a stamen.

filiform, thread-like.

fimbriate, with a fringed margin.

flabellate or flabelliform, fan-shaped.

flexuose, bent alternately to right and to left.

floccose, with tufts of wool.

foliaceous, having the appearance or texture of leaves.

follicle, a carpel opening at the inner suture only, e.g., some Asclepiadiaceæ and Apocynaceæ.

-foliolate, used to denote the number of leaflets, e.g., trifoliolate, with 3 leaflets, etc.

free, not united.

fruticose, shrubby.

fugaceous, falling off early.

funicle, the stalk attaching the seed to the placenta.

fusiform, spindle-shaped.

gamopetalous, when all the petals of a corolla are united.

gamophyllous, when the leaves of a perianth are joined together.

gamosepalous, when the sepals of a calyx are joined together.

geminate, in pairs.

gibbous, swollen or humped on one side.

glabrate, almost hairless.

glabrous, smooth, without hairs.

gland, an organ of secretion, represented by a small lump, which is sometimes stalked and called a stipitate gland.

glandular hairs are hairs which are enlarged at the top and contain a viscous secretion.

glaucous, with a bluish waxy bloom.

glochidiate, applied to hairs or bristles hooked at the top.

glume is one of the bracts enclosing the flowers of sedges and grasses.

glumule, the bract which forms the exterior covering of each flower of a spikelet in grasses.

granular, covered with numerous minute excrescences.

gymnosperms, plants whose ovules are naked, i.e., not enclosed in carpels, e.g., Gnetaceæ and Cycadaceæ.

gynæcium, the female organs of a flower.

gynobasic, of a style when it arises at or near the base of the ovary, e.g., Labiatæ.

gynophore, applied to the receptacle below the ovary when elongated and stalk-like.

-gynous, suffix used to show the number of carpels in an ovary, e.g., trigynous, with 3 carpels.

habit, the habitual shape of a plant as it stands.

habitat, the locality which a plant selects for growing in on account of suitability of climate, soil, elevation, etc., etc.

hastate, halberd-shaped, applied to leaves the basal lobes of which are pointed and turned outwards at right angles to the axis of the leaf.

head, see capitulum.

herbaceous, tender and green, not woody.

hermaphrodite, applied to flowers having both male and female organs.

hilum, a scar on a seed showing the place of its attachment to the fruit.

hirsute, with long, rough hairs.

hispid, with stiff hairs or bristles.

hoary, with short white hairs or down.

hyaline, glass-like, transparent or translucent.

hypocrateriform, salver-shaped, applied to a corolla when it expands in a flat manner.

hypogynous, applied to a flower, the sepals, petals and the stamens of which arise beneath the pistil.

imbricate, overlapping like the tiles of a roof.

imparipinnate, pinnate with an uneven number of leaflets.

indefinite, without fixed number, usually meaning a large number (of sepals, petals, stamens, etc.).

indehiscent, applied to fruits which do not split to allow the seed to escape.

inferior, applied to an ovary means that it is enclosed in and adherent to the calyx.

inflorescence, the manner in which flowers are arranged on a plant.

infundibuliform, funnel-shaped.

internode, the portion of a stem between the point of attachment of two successive leaves, if alternate leaves, or pairs of leaves, if they are opposite.

interrupted, when applied to an inflorescence means that portion of the axis bears no flowers although there are some both above and below.

involucel, the involucre of a secondary umbel.

involucre, a whorl of bracts, sometimes united and sometimes in several rows below an inflorescence or an individual flower.

involute, rolled from the back, e.g., towards the upper surface of a leaf.

irregular, applied to a flower which cannot be divided into two equal sections in whatever direction from above it is cut.

-jugate, in pairs, e.g., bijugate in 2 pairs, trijugate in 3 pairs, multijugate in many pairs, etc.

keel, the (more or less) united two lower petals in Papilionaceæ; also applied to straight longitudinal nerves on bracts, sepals or petals.

labiate, lipped, referring to the shape of the corolla or perianth.

laciniate, cut about, ragged, applied to leaves, the lobes of which are narrow and irregular.

lamina, the blade or broad part of a leaf.

lanceolate, lance-shaped, applied to leaves about three times longer than broad, broadest below the middle and tapering to the apex.

latex, milky sap.

leaflet, a subdivision of a compound leaf, q.v.

legume, the seed-vessel of Leguminosæ, 1-celled and 2-valved.

lepidote, covered with small scurfy scales.

ligulate, strap-shaped.

ligule, a kind of stipule embracing the stem of grasses where the sheath gives way to the blade of the leaf.

ligulifloræ, a section of the Compositæ, the florets of which in a head have all a strap-shaped corolla.

limb, the broader part of a leaf, but more commonly the broader part of the corolla above the tube, where it expands.

linear, narrow and long with parallel margins.

lip, a long more or less pendent corolla lobe or petal as in Labiatæ, Orchidaceæ, etc.

lobes, the divisions of a simple leaf or calyx or corolla or fruit.

lobulate, having minute lobes.

-locular, divided into compartments or cells, e.g., trilocular = 3-celled.

lodicules, hyaline or fleshy nerveless scales in grasses, representing the perianth of the flower.

lunate, crescent-shaped.

lyrate, applied to a pinnatifid leaf with a broader rounded terminal lobe and smaller, shorter ones below, e.g., some Cruciferæ and Compositæ.

marcescent, withering on the plant without falling off, e.g., the flower of Dombeya.

membranous, thin and not stiff.

-merous, used to show the numbers of parts in each floral envelope, e.g., trimerous, having 3 sepals, 3 petals (if any), 3 stamens, and (or) 3 carpels.

monadelphous, when all the stamens are joined by their filaments, thus forming a sheath round the ovary, e.g., Malvaceæ, some Leguminosæ, etc.

monandrous, with one stamen.

moniliform, or beaded, repeatedly constricted, e.g., the pod of Acacia arabica.

monocotyledon, having only one seed-leaf, e.g., Palms, Grasses, Sedges, Lilies, etc.

monœcious, a plant having separate male and female flowers on the same individual, see diœcious.

mucronate, terminating abruptly in a short stiff point or mucro.

multifid, divided distinctly into many parts.

multipartite, divided deeply into many parts.

multisect, divided so deeply into many parts that the individual parts are practically divided off.

muricate, covered with short, sharp protuberances.

naked, applied to a flower means that it has no calyx or corolla, applied to a seed that it has no pericarp.

-nate, a suffix showing that 2 or more leaves, etc., are together, e.g., binate, 2 together, ternate, in a whorl of 3, etc.

nectary, an organ secreting sugary fluid within the flower.

node, the point of attachment of a leaf to a stem.

nodose, applied to roots and stems swollen at intervals, knotted.

nut, a dry indehiscent fruit with a hard woody pericarp.

ob-, a prefix which used with terms denoting shape (excepting oblong) means that the shape is inverted; e.g., oblanceolate or obovate applied to a leaf mean that the broader part of the leaf is towards the apex as if it had been inverted, obcordate inverted heart-shaped, with the lobes at the apex.

oblong, elongated elliptic.

obtuse, blunt.

ochrea, a membranous sheath, e.g., some Polygonaceæ.

opposite, applied to leaves means that these are inserted in pairs, one leaf on either side of the stem.

orbicular, round, circular.

organ, every part of a plant which has a distinct function to perform.

ostiole, small aperture as, e.g., into the receptacle in Ficus.

oval, of the same shape as the mathematical figure.

ovary, one or more carpels enclosing one or more ovules.

ovate, somewhat egg-shaped in outline, flat and scarcely twice as long as broad, broadest below the middle.

ovoid, applied to bodies of three dimensions, e.g., ovaries and seeds, which are egg-shaped.

ovule, the early condition of future seeds within the ovary.

palate, part of the lower lip which closes the mouth of a ringent corolla; e.g., in Snap-Dragon.

paleaceous, chaff-like.

paleæ, inner bracts or scales in Compositæ or Gramineæ, see also valvules.

palmate, applied to a simple leaf divided like a hand into several lobes.

palmatifid, more deeply divided than the former.

palmatipartite or palmatisect, palmately divided to the root of the main ribs.

pandurate or panduriform, fiddle-shaped.

panicle, when the axis of an inflorescence bears branches having two or more flowers, when the term is used alone it usually means a compound raceme, a cymose panicle has the branches in cymes, a corymbose panicle has them in corymbs and so on.

pappus, an appendage consisting of a ring of hairs or scales round the top of a fruit, e.g., some of the Compositæ.

parasite, a plant living on the sap of another plant.

-partite, deeply divided, see pinnatipartite, palmatipartite, pedatipartite and multipartite.

patent, open, spreading at right angles to the axis.

pectinate, finely divided like the teeth of a comb.

pedate, applied to a compound leaf when the divisions are at first ternate, but the outer branches are forked and the outer ones of each fork again forked.

pedatifid, applied to a simple leaf divided in a similar way to a pedate leaf.

pedatipartite or pedatisect, when the divisions are practically to the main nerve.

pedicel, the stalk of a flower in a compound inflorescence.

peduncle, the stalk of a solitary flower, or of an inflorescence.

peltate, applied to a leaf which is more or less orbicular and the petiole of which is inserted not at the lower margin but near the centre.

perennial, when the life of a plant lasts more than 2 years, although the upper portion may die down to the ground every year.

perianth, the only floral envelope in the Apetalæ and in Monocotyledons.

pericarp, the wall of the ovary when in fruit.

perigynous, when the corolla and stamens are borne on the calyx and free from the ovary.

persistent, which does not fall off.

petal, a leaf of the inner envelope of a flower, often brightly coloured, absent from certain plants.

petaloid, having the appearance of a petal.

petiole, the leaf-stalk.

petiolule, the stalk of a leaflet.

phanerogam, a flowering plant.

pilose, sprinkled thinly with long soft hairs.

pinnate, applied to a compound leaf, the leaflets of which are arranged, feather like, on either side of the rhachis; see abruptly pinnate, imparipinnate, bipinnate.

pinnatifid, when a simple leaf is divided into a series of lobes on either side of the midrib.

pinna, in bi- or tripinnate leaves each subdivision with the leaflets it comprises is called a pinna.

pinnatipartite or pinnatisect, the lobes more deeply divided than in a pinnatifid leaf and reaching almost to the midrib.

pistil, the innermost whorl of the flower consisting of one or more carpels, and includes ovary, style and stigma.

pitted, covered with small depressed spots.

placenta, is the part of the interior of the ovary to which the ovules are attached.

placentation, the method of attachment of the ovules, viz., axile when attached to the axis, but if this axis does not reach the top the placentation is free central, and parietal when attached to the inner wall of the ovary.

plicate, folded longitudinally like a closed fan.

plumose, like a tuft of long feathers, e.g., the leaves of a palm.

plumule, the leaf-bearing part of the embryo.

pod, a one-celled, two-valved seed vessel.

pollen, the fertilizing dust contained within the anther.

pollinia or pollen-masses, club-shaped collections of pollen in Asclepiadaceæ and Orchidaceæ.

polyadelphous, when the stamens are united into several bundles by junction of filaments.

polyandrous, with many stamens.

polycarpous or polycarpellary, with many carpels.

polygamous, bearing male, female and hermaphrodite flowers at the same time on the same plant, but if on distinct plants they are polygamo-diœcious.

polypetalous or dialypetalous, when the petals are free.

polysepalous or dialysepalous, when the sepals are free.

præmorse, as though the end were bitten off.

prickle, a sharp excrescence from the epidermis of a plant and not from the wood.

procumbent, of a plant which lies along the ground for the greater part of its length.

prostrate, when a plant lies down throughout its length.

puberulent, minutely downy.

pubescent, downy.

quadrate, square.

raceme, an inflorescence in which stalked flowers are inserted along a central axis.

rachilla and rachis, see rhachilla and rhachis.

radical, springing from the root.

radicle, the embryo root.

ray florets, the outer florets, in the capitulum of certain Compositæ.

rays of an umbel, the pedicels bearing the flowers or secondary umbels.

receptacle, the short, flat, convex or conical axis on which the flowers of a head are seated, as in Compositæ; also the extremity of the flower-stalk above the calyx (also called torus) on which the corolla, stamens and pistil are inserted.

reclinate, bent downwards.

recurved, bent back.

reduplicate, folded back.

reflexed, bent back abruptly.

regular, applied to a flower means that all parts of the floral whorls are equal among themselves.

reniform, kidney-shaped.

reticulated, net-like.

retrorse, turned backwards.

retuse, very blunt and slightly indented.

revolute, rolled back, in case of a leaf towards the underside.

rhachilla, a secondary axis in the flowers of Sedges and Grasses.

rhachis, the stalk of a compound leaf bearing the leaflets; also the portion of the axis of an inflorescence from the lowest ramification upwards.

rhomboidal, applied to leaves or leaflets means more or less 4-angled but not square.

rostellate, with a small beak.

rostrate, beaked.

rosulate, rosette-shaped.

rotate, wheel-shaped; of a corolla when the petals or lobes are spread out horizontally from the base.

rufous, foxy-red.

rugose, wrinkled.

runcinate, pinnatifid with the lobes pointing downwards.

runner, a prostrate branch, rooting at places.

saccate, bag-like.

sagittate, applied to a leaf the basal lobes or auricles point downwards like the barbs of an arrow.

samara, a winged fruit.

sarcocarp, the fleshy layer in certain fruits.

scabrous or scabrid, rough to the touch.

scales, leaves much reduced in size, but having neither colour nor functions of leaves; also circular disc-like hairs.

scandent, climbing.

scape, a naked peduncle springing apparently from the root.

scarious, thin and more or less translucent, not green.

scorpioid inflorescence, a cymose compound inflorescence, in which, by the abortion of one of the branches in each of the successive subsidiary cymes, always on the same side, the inflorescence becomes curled up somewhat like a scorpion’s tail; e.g., Boraginaceæ.

-sect, cut completely to the base, e.g., pinnatisect when the lobes of a simple leaf are cut down to the midrib.

secund, when all the leaves or flowers are turned to the same side of the stem.

sepal, one of the leaves forming the calyx.

serrate, sawlike, applied to the teeth on the margin of a leaf, the point of which is sharp and the sides unequal.

serrulate, finely serrate.

sessile, having no stalk.

seta, a bristle.

setaceous or setose, bristly.

sheath, the dilated petiole of a leaf when it encloses the stem for some distance above the node, e.g., Grasses, some Umbelliferæ, etc.

shrub, a woody plant over 3 ft. high, which naturally branches into several stems from near the ground; a plant with a single stem, but too small to be classed as a tree is known as an arborescent shrub.

siliqua, a linear pod divided into 2 cells by a thin membranous partition, from which the valves generally separate at maturity. When the pod is short and broad it is called a silicule. Both are characteristic of the Cruciferæ.

simple, applied to a leaf means that it is not subdivided into leaflets, and to an inflorescence when the main floral axis only bears single flowers and not subsidiary inflorescences.

sinuate, or wavy when the margins of a leaf have a wavy outline, like an oak-leaf.

sinus, the space between the teeth or lobes of a leaf.

spadix, a fleshy spike as in the Araceæ.

spathe, a sheath-like bract enclosing the flower of some Monocotyledons, e.g., in Araceæ.

spathulate, ladle-shaped, i.e., broad in the short upper part and contracted below.

spike, a simple inflorescence bearing sessile flowers along the axis.

spikelet, applied to the small clusters of flowers in Sedges and Grasses enclosed within one or more glumes.

spine, a woody persistent thorn.

spur, a conical hollow projection in the tube or lower part of a petal, e.g., in some Scrophulariaceæ and Orchidaceæ.

squamæ, see scales.

squarrose, applied to imbricated scales, bracts or leaves having pointed tips and which are also spreading or recurved.

stamen, the male organ of the flower.

staminode, imperfect and barren stamen.

standard, the large upper petal in Papilionaceæ.

stellate, applied to a corolla the petals or lobes of which spread out like the rays of a star; also to branched hairs radiating from a centre.

sterile or barren, applied to stamens without pollen and to flowers without a pistil.

stigma, the upper part of the pistil on which the pollen settles before fertilizing the ovules.

stipe, a term applied to a stalk on any part of the plant except leaves and flowers.

stipellæ or stipels, subsidiary stipules of leaflets.

stipitate, stalked.

stipule, leaf-like appendages, often in pairs and winged at the base of the petiole in certain plants; when taking the form of spines they are known as stipular thorns, e.g., Acacia arabica, etc.

stolon, a horizontal runner.

striate, marked with longitudinal lines or furrows.

strigose, applied to shortish hair lying close along the surface in one direction.

strobilate, closely overlapping as the scales in the cone of a fir.

style, the portion of the pistil which bears the stigma.

subsessile, almost sessile.

subulate, awl-shaped.

succulent, juicy, sappy.

sulcate, grooved, fluted, furrowed.

superior ovary, an ovary which is free, i.e., not adnate to the calyx or perianth.

suture, the line along which similar organs cohere, e.g., carpellary leaves.

syncarpous, applied to an ovary composed of several carpels cohering to one another.

tendril, a thread-like process, usually an abortive petiole or peduncle, having the faculty of grasping and twining round objects and thus enabling the plant to climb.

terete, with a circular cross section, e.g., a cylinder.

ternate, in threes, whether three leaves in a verticil or 3 lobes or 3 leaflets of a leaf, but the last two are more commonly called tri-lobed or tri-fid and tri-foliolate respectively.

terrestrial, growing in the earth in contradistinction to epiphytes and tree-parasites.

tesselated, marked with small squares, e.g., nuts of some Sedges.

thorn, usually an abortive branch petiole or peduncle with a sharp, pointed end.

throat, the upper part of a corolla tube.

thyrsus, a compound inflorescence in which cymes, usually opposite, are arranged in a narrow pyramidal panicle.

tomentose, covered with light-coloured, short, soft and somewhat felted hairs (tomentum).

torulose, cylindrical with small swellings and depressions.

torus, see receptacle.

tree, a plant capable of carrying a single stem, up to about 25 ft. at least.

trigonous, obtusely 3-angled.

triquetrous, more sharply 3-angled, almost 3-winged.

truncate, ending abruptly, as if cut off square.

tuber, a short underground stem containing farinaceous matter, e.g., potato.

tubercled or tuberculate, covered with roundish knobby projections.

tumid, inflated, swollen.

turbinate, top-shaped.

umbel, an inflorescence in which the flowers radiate from a common point on stalks of about the same lengths.

umbellule, a subsidiary umbel in a compound umbel.

umbonate, with a boss as on a shield.

uncinate, hooked.

undershrub, a woody plant less than 3 ft. in height.

undulate, applied to margins of leaves which without being cut out rise and fall like waves.

unguiculate, clawed, applied to a stalked petal.

unisexual, of one sex only, applied to flowers which have stamens and no pistil or vice versa.

urceolate, urn-shaped.

utricle, the pericarp of a nut when it is thin and loose.

valvate, applied to the æstivation of a corolla means that in bud the petals or lobes are arranged edge to edge without overlapping.

valves, these are (a) the segments into which a capsule splits on becoming ripe; (b) the bracts between the glumes and the paleæ (or valvules) in the flowers of Grasses.

valvules (or paleæ), 2-nerved, hyaline bracts situated between the valves (see above) and the lodicules.

ventricose, swelling or inflated.

verrucose, covered by wart-like lumps.

versatile, applied to anthers which are attached by one point on their backs to the tips of the filaments so as to swing loosely.

verticil, whorl.

villous, having long, soft hairs, shaggy.

virgate, twiggy.

viscous or viscid, giving out a sticky secretion.

vittæ, linear vesicles, filled with oil, in the pericarp of Umbelliferæ.

wavy, see undulate, also applied to sinuate.

whorl or verticil, 3 or more leaves or flowers arranged round a stem on the same level.

wing, (a) the prolongation of a fruit or seed into a membrane, (b) a thin membrane along the angle of a stem, (c) protuberances on the rhachilla of certain Sedges.

woolly, with long loose hairs like wool.