Native Plants
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Glossary of commonly used botanical terms and their definitions. Use the search bar below to look up a botanical term.
15 Random Botanical Terms
Oblanceolate - Inversely lanceolate with top wider than bottom.
Cuspidate - Tipped with a sharp firm point.
Zygomorphic - Refers to flowers capable of division by only one plane of symmetry (bilaterally symmetric).
Pistillate flower - A flower with pistils, but no stamens.
Head - A compact cluster of flowers attached to essentially the same point on the peduncle.
Superior ovary - An ovary situated above the origin of sepals and petals.
Rib (of cactus) - A ridge; a raised surface running vertically or sometimes spiraling, and bearing areoles in a row along its summit. Often thought of as being composed of more or less united tubercles which may be evident as bulging masses along it.
Anemophilous - Wind pollinated.
Spatulate - Paddle, or spoon shaped, broad at the tip and narrowed towards the base.
Zygote - A reproductive cell formed by the fusion of two gametes.
Thorn - A sharp-pointed structure formed by a modified branch.
Style - The stalk-like part of the pistil, connecting the ovary and the stigma.
Apiculate - Ending abruptly with a sharp, flexible tip.
Umbel - A rounded or flat topped cluster of flowers on stems that radiate from the tip of the main stem. A compound umbel has smaller umbels at the ends of the radiating stems.
Dioecious - With male and female reproductive structures on separate plants.