Plant Terms

Question 1

A chemical molecule in a plant that can alter some biochemical process in the body. Most plants or herbs contain many of these that work together to alter functioning processes of the body, usually in a subtle way.

Answer 1

Active constituent

Question 2

The leaves and flowers of a plant

Answer 2

Aerial parts

Question 3

A typically highly active plant constituent containing a nitrogen atom, usually in a ring- shaped molecule.

Answer 3

Alkaloid

Question 4

A plant that goes through a complete life cycle in 1 year, dying after one growing season.

Answer 4

Annual

Question 5

A plant with a two-year life cycle, typically flowering during the second year before dying.

Answer 5

Biennial

Question 6

The two-part scientific name used to identify plants; consists of the genus and species of a plant.

Answer 6

Binomial

Question 7

A class of botanical secondary metabolites, many of which are anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.

Answer 7

Bioflavonoids

Question 8

The study of plants

Answer 8

Botany

Question 9

A type of plant with little or no woody tissue.

Answer 9

Herbaceous

Question 10

A non-native plant that has spread into the wild and reproduces to form a wild population.

Answer 10

Naturalized

Question 11

A natural exudate from trees and plants that consists mainly of essential oil, gum, and resin.

Answer 11

Oleo gum resin

Question 12

A plant that lives for more than 2 years. The aboveground parts of perennial plants may die back at the end of the growing season, but the roots often endure for many years, producing new growth each spring.

Answer 12

Perennial

Question 13

A biologically active substance in plants.

Answer 13

Phytochemical

Question 14

Natural estrogen-like substances that occur in plants

Answer 14

Phytoestrogen

Question 15

A gardening term; the process of creating new plants from plant cuttings.

Answer 15

Propagation

Question 16

A semi-solid plant substance typically with antimicrobial properties that is soluble in alcohol, but not in water. Amber and pine pitch are examples.

Answer 16

Resin

Question 17

An underground stem from which roots and shoots grow. The rhizomes of ginger and turmeric, for example, are used in herbalism.

Answer 17

Rhizome

Question 18

Active plant constituents that produce a soap-like lather in water.

Answer 18

Saponins

Question 19

An abbreviation for species, signifying any one of a number of species in a genus; for example, instead of writing out all the species of the genus Valeriana, Valeriana ____ is written.

Answer 19

Spp.

Question 20

An active plant constituent that binds proteins through an astringent action; originally derived from plants used for tanning leather.

Answer 20

Tannin

Question 21

A somewhat straight tapering root that grows vertically downward.

Answer 21

Taproot

Question 22

The science of classifying living organisms by assigning each organism to a category depending on the degree of similarities or relatedness to another.

Answer 22

Taxonomy

Question 23

Complex active plant constituents with a carbon ring structure, generally highly aromatic and often a component of essential oils.

Answer 23

Terpene

Question 24

A swollen part of an underground plant stem, capable of new growth.

Answer 24

Tuber

Question 25

A level of classification in the plant kingdom below species and subspecies noting minor differences within a species, such as variations in flower color; designated by the abbreviation var.

Answer 25

Variety

Question 26

Harvesting uncultivated herbs from the wild. Most herbalists feel that this also implies harvesting the herbs with reverence and ecological awareness.

Answer 26

Wildcrafting