Explore Plants

Glossary of Botanical Terms

Search native plant database:
Name:    
Family:    
 
Results 1 through 36 of 228
term definition
ABAlberta
AcheneA dry, usually one-seeded, indehiscent fruit.
AcornA hard, one-seeded nut whose enclosed by a scaly cup.
ActinomorphicRefers to flowers that can be divided into equal halves along any axis (radially symmetric).
AcuminateGradually tapering to a point.
AggregateFruit developed from multiple pistils in a single flower, eg raspberry.
AK(I)Introduced to Alaska
AK(N)Native to Alaska
AK(NI)Native and Introduced to Alaska
AlternatePlaced singly at different heights on the stem; not opposite or whorled.
AndroeciumCollective term for the stamens of one flower.
AnemophilousWind pollinated.
AnnualGrowing from seed to maturity and dying in one year or season.
AntherThe pollen bearing part of the flower.
ApexThe very tip.
ApicalSituated at or near the tip.
AppressedPressed or lying flat against something.
AreoleA spot in the form of a pit or a raised area on the surface of a cactus through which spines or other structures grow.
ArilAn outer covering or appendage of some seeds.
AsymmetricLacking symmetry, e.g., the two halves of a leaf blade not alike.
AxilThe upper angle between two structures or organs, as where a leaf or branch joins the stem.
AxillaryGrowing from an axil.
BarkTough outer covering of trunks or stems of trees, shrubs, and vines.
Basal leavesThe leaves that are concentrated near the base of the main stem.
BaseThe part of a leaf toward the branch which supports it.
BCBritish Columbia
BeardA tuft or line of hairs, as on certain petals.
BerryA fleshy, indehiscent fruit with few to many seeds.
BiennialA plant that takes two years to complete the flowering cycle. Typically it grows leaves the first year and flowers and leaves the second.
Bilateral symmetryThe flower must be divided in half lengthwise for the two sides to be identical.
BipinnateTwice-pinnate.
BladeThe expanded portion of a leaf or petal.
BractA reduced or modified leaf occurring at the base of a flower or group of flowers. Bracts are sometimes arranged in rows, like shingles on a roof, usually closely cupping the blossoms of Compositae (Sunflower Family); see also Phyllaries. Sometimes brightly colored or petallike, as in Castilleja (paintbrush), or threadlike, as in Daucus carota {Queen Anne's lace).
BranchletA small branch.
BristlyHaving stiff, rigid, rather thick hairs on the surface of stems or leaves.
BudA small cell-mass in the process of dividing from a stem to form a flower, leaf or another stem
 
Results 1 through 36 of 228