C
- Callus
- Cork-like protective tissue which covers wounds
- Calyx
- all of the sepals in aflower, collectively
- Cambium
- Layer of cells in the stem which give rise to the water and food carrying tissues, and also in cork cambium, cork
- Catkin
- spike or spike-like raceme of densely packed flowers or fruits
- Central leader
- The dominant, central stem of a tree
- Chlorophyll
- Green pigment in plant leaves
- Cloche
- Small glass or plastic cone which can be placed over plants to protect them from frost, rain or, when propagating, to encourage growth and root development
- Clone
- plants originally derived or propagated from one plant by vegetative means. All are identical to the original plant
- Cold Frame
- A frame with a wooden or plastic lid to protect plants during overwintering or propagating. The lid can usually be set partially open to improve ventilation
- Container Grown
- Plant grown on by plant nursery and sold in a container
- Coppicing
- Cutting or pruning trees & shrubs to ground level to produce new, vigorous growth
- Cordon
- Plant pruned to a single, main stem
- Corm
- Swollen underground stem for food storage
- Crossing
- pollinating one plant with another, usually in a controlled environment, to obtain a new hybrid
- Crown
- The main branch system or upper part of a tree
- Cultivar
- The cultivated form of a plant, usually propagated by horticulturalists. Often shown as cv
- Cutting
- A section of a stem or piece of a plant used to propagate a new plant. Can be stem cutting, root cutting, tip cutting. Sometimes called a 'slip'
Back to Top
D
- Damping Off
- The effect of the various fungus diseases that can cause seedlings to rot and will quickly kill them
- Deciduous
- Sheds all leaves in one season
- Decumbent
- Habit which is weeping or 'reclining' with tips then ascending
- Defoliation
- Loss of leaves, usually due to stress or disease
- Dicotyledon
- Flowering plant with two 'seed leaves' on seedling plants
- Disbud
- Removal of buds or shoots beginning growth
- Division
- Increasing plants by dividing them into several new plants, each with a root system & one or more buds
- Dioecious
- Male and female organs are present on seperate plants
- Dormant
- Plants with reduced cellular activity; and buds which do not grow away unless stimulated by damage to the shoots or branch system
- Double flower
- more than the usual number of petals
- Double leader
- Two shoots competing as leading shoots on a tree
- Drip Line
- Area around a tree into which water drips from the branches
- Drupe
- Fleshy fruit, usually with hard walled seed
Back to Top
E
- Embryo
- Plant within a seed
- Endemic
- Plant which is naturally found in a region
- Epicormic shoots
- A cluster of shoots from dormant buds on a stem or branch after a wound, cut or pruning
- Epidermis
- The outer layer of plant cells
- Epiphyte
- Plant that grows on other, living plants for support
- Erect
- Upright form or habit
- Espalier
- Trees trained in horizontal fashion against a wall or on wires, usually with the horizontal branches in tiers
- Evergreen
- Tree that does not lose all of its leaves at one time
- Everlasting
- Long lasting when dried
- Exotic
- Plant which is not native or endemic to a region
- Eye
- A growth bud, especially for roses and vines
Back to Top
F
- Family
- Category containing related species, botanically, Genus
- Fan
- Tree trained with central main stem & branches into a fan shape usually against a wall or other support
- Fastigate
- Narrow, upright form or habit
- Fibrous Root
- The thin, much-branched roots near the soil surface
- Filiform
- Thread like
- Framework
- The bare branches or skeleton of a tree or shrub
Back to Top
G
- Genus
- Plant classification that groups related plants, eg the genus rosa groups all roses
- Germination
- The beginning of growth in seeds, spore and pollen grain
- Glandualar
- With glands, small secretory pores often terminating in hairs
- Glaucous
- Smooth and waxy leaves
- Globose
- Spherical or ball shaped
- Grafting
- A propagation technique where a cutting or bud growth from one plant ('scion') is spliced onto a second plant ( 'rootstock')
- Growth buds
- See Bud
Back to Top
H
- Habit
- Growth pattern, shape or 'form' of a plant, eg. prostrate, round-headed, etc.
- Habitat
- Environment in which a plant grows
- Hastate
- Triangular, like an arrow head
- Harden off
- Toughen plants from the greenhouse by giving lengthening periods of exposure to outside conditions
- Head
- Top part of a plant, e.g. tree canopy
- Heel
- The part of the stem that joins to the main stem; when a stem is torn from a larger branch a 'heel' of wood will remain at the end of the stem where it had been attached to the parent.
- Heel In
- Temporary planting in soil, usually on an angle, until a permanent planting
- Herbaceous
- Plants that are soft and green without woody stems or tissue
- Hip
- Fruit, usually fleshy
- Humus
- Decayed organic matter, compost
- Hybrid
- Plant created by crossing two related species
- Hypocotyl
- The part of a plant embryo between its cotyledon and root tip
Back to Top
I
- Indigenous
- Plant which occurs naturally in a region or country
- Infloresence
- Flower formed of more than one or more flowers arranged in a certain way
- Insectivorous
- Insect eating plant
- Intercrop
- A crop which is grown with, but matures at a different rate to, another crop
- Internode
- Section of stem between two joints or 'nodes'
Back to Top
J
Back to Top
K
Back to Top
L
- Lanceloate
- 'Lance' or spear-shaped, generally 3 to 6 times as long as wide with curving, tapered sides
- Layering
- A propagation technique in which shoots/roots are encouraged to grow on a branch of a parent plant
- Leaf cutting
- leaves that will root, generally from houseplants
- Linear
- Leaves, petals etc with straight, parallel sides for length, and minimum of 12 times as long as wide
- Loam
- A rich soil of sand, clay and decaying organic material
- Long Day Plant
- Plant flowering in response to day length
Back to Top
M
- Mid-rib
- Thick central leaf vein
- Monocotyledon
- Seedling of flowering plant which only one leaf when it first germinates
- Monocecious
- Has separate male and female flowers on the same plant
- Mulch
- Organic or inorganic material put on the soil to suppress weeds, conserve moisture & improve soil structure
Back to Top
Go to Glossary A-B or N-Z
| |
