Common Terms Flashcards
Annual
A plant that naturally completes its lifecycle from germination to death in one growing season.
Biennial
Plants that are sown in one season, but which won’t flower until the next season e.g. carrots
Cultivar
(Cultivated Variety) Plant variety arising from cultivation (selective breeding)
Deciduous
Ascribed to trees and shrubs that shed their leaves seasonally, habitually before a cold period.
Dioecious
Plant species that have separate male and female flowers on different individuals.
Division
The technique of separating one plant into many smaller plants
Evergreen
Applied to a tree or shrub that has persistent leaves all year around; and whose crown is never wholly bare.
Genus
A taxonomic group consisting of closely related plant species, as in Rosa/; the first of the two names which name a species.
Half-hardy
Tolerant of periods of cold, wet or damp weather, but not frost.
Hardy
Not normally killed by frost
Herbaceous
An herbaceous plant is one that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level; they have no persistent woody stem above ground; hardy herbaceous perennials come up every year, as in Lupin and Delphinium.
Humus
A dark, rich, organic substance resulting from the decomposition of plant and animal matter, to the point where it has reached a point of stability and will break down no further.
Loam
A soil that has a mixture of sand, silt and clay; generally speaking, is the most desirable soil type.
Monoecious
Plants that have seperate male and female flowers on the same individual plant - Begonia
Mulch
Materials applied to the soil surface to help supress weeds, modify soil temperatures, reduce water loss, protect the soil surface and reduce erosion. Materials may be organic, such as farmyard manure, bark, lawn clippings or manufactures e.g. paper, polythene.
Perennial
A plant living through several growing seasons
Propagate
To breed plant specimens by natural processes from the parent stock e.g. ‘the plant is propagated by softwood stem cuttings’.
Species
The fundamental unit of plant classification - a two-name combination; in general, plants which are of the same species can freely cross-pollinate each other.
Topography
The study of the surface and shape of the land, and features of an area.
Variegation
The appearance of differently coloured zones in the leaves, and sometimes stems, of plants.
