| Blade | The expanded portion of a leaf or petal. |
| Bract | A 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 Asteraceae (Sunflower Family); cf. Phyllary. Sometimes brightly colored or petallike, as in Castilleja spp. (paintbrush), or threadlike, as in Daucus carota (Queen Anne's Lace). |
| Branchlet | A small branch. |
| Bristly | Having stiff, rigid, rather thick hairs on the surface of stems or leaves. |
| Bud | A small cell-mass in the process of dividing from a stem to form a flower, leaf or another stem |
| Bulb | A thick, rounded, underground organ consisting of layered, fleshy leaves and membranes. |
| Cactus/Succulent | A plant having leaves and/or stems which are thick and fleshy. |
| Calyx | The sepals taken collectively. These may be distinct, or joined to form a cup or tube; they may be of any color but are usually green. When the calyx is present, it encloses the other parts of the flower in bud. |
| Campanulate | Bell-shaped. |
| CAN(I) | Introduced to Canada |
| CAN(N) | Native to Canada |
| CAN(NI) | Native and Introduced to Canada |
| Capitulescence | The inflorescence of a capitulum-bearing plant as in many species in Asteraceae. |
| Capitulum | An inflorescence composed of multiple florets arranged in a flower head and surrounded by an involucre of bracts as found on many species in Asteraceae. |
| Capsule | A dry fruit that splits open along three or more lines. |
| Caryopsis | A dry, one-seeded fruit (achene) with ovary wall united to the seed coat, characteristic of grasses. |
| Catkin | A spikelike flower cluster that bears scaly bracts and petalless, unisexual flowers. |
| Caudate | Tapering gradually into a long taillike tip |
| Clasping | Leaf partially encircles the stem. |
| Complete flower | A flower with sepals, petals, stamens, and pistil present. |
| Compound | A leaf divided into two or more leaflets. |
| Compound leaf | A leaf that is completely separated into two or more leaflets. |
| Compound Pistil | A pistil made up of two or more partially or completely united carpels. |
| Cordate | Heart-shaped, with the point at the apex. |
| Corm | A short, fleshy underground stem, broader than high, producing stems from the base and leaves and flower stems from the top. |
| Corolla | The petals collectively; usually colored or showy. These may be distinct or united to form a cup, trumpet, tube, or two-lipped body. |
| Corymb | A flat-topped or convex flower cluster, with the lower or outer stems longer; the flowers on these stems open first. |
| Crenate | Having rounded teeth along the margin. |
| Culm | The hollow stem of grasses and bamboos. |
| Cuneate | Leaf shape narrowly triangular, wider at the apex and tapering toward the base. |
| Cuspidate | Tipped with a sharp firm point. |
| Cyme | A usually flattish inflorescence in which the central or terminal flower matures first. |
| Deciduous | Having leaves that all fall off at the end of the growing season, or at least wither up and become lifeless. |
| Decumbent | Lying on the ground but having an ascending tip. |
| Deltoid | Triangular. |
| Dentate | Sharply toothed, with the teeth pointing straight out from the margin. |
| Denticulate | Finely toothed. |
| Dioecious | With male and female reproductive structures on separate plants. |
| Disc flowers | The inner tubular flowers on the heads of Asteraceae (Sunflower Family). |
| Distal | Toward the top of a plant or the tip of a plant part. Cf, Proximal. |
| Drupe | Fruit with exocarp or skin, fleshy mesocarp and hardened endocarp with seed inside. |
| Elliptic | Shaped like an ellipse, resembling a flattened circle. |
| Emarginate | Having a shallow notch at the tip. |
| Endemic | Occurring naturally only in a single geographic area. |
| Entire | Said of margins without teeth or lobes. |
| Escape | A cultivated plant that has gone wild. |
| Evergreen | Remaining green and leafy through the winter. |
| Falcate | Sickle-shaped. |
| Fascicled | In a tight bundle, several leaves appearing to arise from a common point. |
| Fern | Any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants (pteridophytes) having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores.
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| Fibrous | Network of fine roots with no central dominant root. |
| Filament | Stalk of stamen; bears the anther. |
| Floret | A small flower, especially one in a dense cluster. |
| Florets | Small or reduced flowers. |
| Flower head | A dense arrangement of flowers arising from a common point, as in Apiaceae, or as in Asteraceae where many ray flowers and/or disc flowers make up one "flower head." See also, Capitulum. |
| FNA | Flora of North America. |
| Frond | The leaf of a fern. |
| Fruit | The seed-bearing part of a plant. |
| Genus | A group of related species classified within a family. |
| Glabrous | Smooth; hairless. |
| Grass/Grass-like | Having narrow leaves, usually arising from the base of the plant. |
| Halophyte | A plant which tolerates a salty environment. |
| Hastate | A triangle with two sides abruptly concave; in the form of two pointed lobes pointing outwards. |
| Head | A compact cluster of flowers attached to essentially the same point on the peduncle. |
| Herb | A plant species lacking woody tissue when mature. |
| Herbaceous | Herblike; not woody. |
| Hermaphrodite | Bisexual, having both male and female parts in the same flower.
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| Hermaphroditic | Having the properties of a hermaphrodite, with both male and female structures located within the same flower. |
| HI(I) | Introduced to Hawaii |
| HI(N) | Native to Hawaii |
| Imperfect flower | A flower bearing either stamens or pistils, but not both. |
| Incomplete flower | A flower lacking one or more of the following: stamens, pistils, petals, sepals. |