Parts of the tree Flashcards
Abortive [fruit]
Not developed completely
Alternate [arrangement of leaves or buds]
Not opposite on the sides of twig
Appressed
Pressed close or lying flat against something
Awl-shaped [leaf]
Narrow and tapering to a sharp point
Axillary
Growing from the Axil. The angle between the upper side of a leaf or stem and the supporting stem or branch.
Basal disc [fruit]
A plate-like structure on the base of a fruit.
Bloom
A whitish covering; usually on new shoot growth or fruit.
Bole
The main stem of a tree; usually the part that is commercially useful for lumber or other wood products.
Bract
A leaf-like structure which is attached to a flower, a fruit or to its stalk.
Branchlet
Shoot growth of the latest growing season
Broadleafed
Having relatively broad rather than needle-like or scale-like leaves.
Capsule [fruit]
A dry fruit enclosing more than one seed and splitting freely at maturity.
Bur [fruit]
A prickly or spiny husk enclosing the seed
Catkin
A compact, cylindrical cluster of flowers of the same sex
Chambered [pith]
With hollow cavities separated by discs or plates
Compound [leaf]
A leaf composed of smaller leaf units or leaflets
Conical
Wide at the base and gradually tapering to a point; circular in cross section
Conifer
Cone-bearing trees; the “evergreens”
Cordate [leaf]
Heart-shaped at the petiole end or base
Corymb
A flat-topped floral cluster with outer flowers opening first
Cup [fruit]
The scaled, concave basal portion of oak fruit
Cyme
A flattened flowering structure, center flowers opening first
Deciduous [leaves]
All leaves drop in the autumn; not evergreen
Diaphragmed [pith]
Solid but divided into sections by firmer discs
Drupe [fruit]
Fleshy outside, hard and stone-like inside
Ellipsoid
Tapers equally at both ends; more than twice as long as broad
Elliptical
Like am ellipse; flat and tapering equally at both ends
Entire [leaf]
Margin of leaf without teeth, lobes, or divisions
Fascicle [leaf]
A cluster of conifer leaves
Fluted [stem]
With alternating, rounded depressions and ridges
Fruit
The seed-bearing part of a tree
Glabrous
Smooth without hairs
Glands
Generally raised structures at the tips of hairs, or on a leaf, petiole, or twig
Globose
Spherical or globe-shaped
Habitat
The place where a plan usually grows, e.g. rocky, moist, well-drained, etc…
Hardwood
Term used to describe all broad-leaved trees. These tree species are typically deciduous, retaining their leaves only one growing season. Despite the term, some “hardwoods”, such as the aspens, have wood that is relatively soft.
Head
A compact aggregate of flowers or fruit on a common stalk
Invasive
Not native to and tending to spread widely in a habitat or environment, sometimes displacing native species
Husk [fruit]
The somewhat leathery, outer covering of a fruit sometimes capable of splitting along well-defined lines
Lance-shaped
Long and tapering; several times longer than broad; broadest at the base
Leaf
Stalk (petiole) and blade of hardwoods; needles and scales of conifers
Leaflets
Smaller leaf units which together form a compound leaf
Lenticel [bark]
Corky, raised pores on woody parts with openings for air-gas exchange
Linear [leaf]
Much longer than broad with parallel margins
Lobed [leaf]
With large, rounded or pointed projections along the leaf margin. Projection formed by indentations of the leaf margin
Margin [leaf]
The edge, perimeter, or portion forming the outline
Midrib [leaf]
The large central vein
Oblong
Longer than wide with nearly parallel sides
Obovate
Egg-shaped in outline; broadest above the middle
Opposite [arrangement of leaves or buds]
Directly across from one another on a common axis or twig
Oval
Somewhat elliptical; less than twice as long as broad
Ovate
Egg-shaped in outline; broadest below the middle
Palmate [leaf or veins]
Compound, with leaflets originating at the same point on a common stalk. Veins originating at a common point at the base of leaf blade
Panicle
A loosely branched, pyramidal cluster of flowers
Pendulous
Drooping or hanging downward
Petiole [leaf]
The stalk that supports the leaf blade
Pinnate [leaf or vein]
Compound, with leaflets along a common rachis or stalk. Veins originating along a common mid-vein
Pistillate
Containing female portions of flowers, or the pistils
Pith
The central, soft part of the stem
Prickle
A small spine-like growth
Pseudo-terminal [bud]
When the bud on the end of a twig has a leaf scar located directly below
Pubescent
Covered with hairs
Raceme
Numerous stalked flowers or fruit along a common axis
Ranked [leaves]
Arranged in rows or files
Samara
A winged fruit, e.g. ash, maple
Scales [bud]
Small, modified leaves on the outer surface of the buds
Scales [cone]
The basic structures that enclose the seeds
Scale-like [leaf]
Small, generally overlapping, triangular shaped leaves of some conifers
Seed
That part of the fruit capable of germinating and producing a new plant
Serrate [leaf]
Margins with a saw tooth outline. Doubly serrate: with small teeth on the larger teeth
Sessile
Attached directly by the base without an intervening stalk
Shrub
A woody, many-stemmed plant, usually under 15 feet in height at maturity, which branches from it’s base
Simple [leaf]
A single leaf composed or a single blade. Not compound
Smooth
Without hairs, glands, or any roughness
Softwood
Term used to describe all needle-leaved trees. These species are typically evergreen, retaining their leaves though two or more growing seasons. Larches, including tamarack, are exceptions, being deciduous “softwoods”
Solid [pith]
Without cavities or sections separated by discs
Spike
A flower stalk
Staminate
Containing male portions of flowers, or the stamens
Spinescent
Having a spine or spines; or terminating in a spine
Spur
A short, extremely slow-growing, woody twig projection
Stipule
A tiny, leafy, sometimes spiny projection arising at the base or a petiole
Stomate (Plural is stomata)
Small pore on a leaf used for gas exchange
Stone
The “bony” or stony pit of drupes
Style
The usually slender part of a pistil, situated between the ovary and the stigma
Toothed [leaf]
With moderate projections along the margin
Tree
A woody plant, generally single-stemmed, that reaches a height of more than 15 feet at maturity and has a diameter of 3 inches or more measured at 4.5 feet above ground.
Umbel
A group of flowers or fruit whose stalks have a common point of attachment
Unequal [leaf base]
Base parts of blade on either side of midrib are uneven
Valve-like [bud scales]
Meet at their margins and do not overlap
Wavy [leaf margin]
Undulating but smooth; not toothed now lobed
Whorl [leaves or branches]
More than two originating at the same level on a common axis.
