Vegetative Terminology Flashcards
Abaxial
the side away from the axis
Acuminate
gradually tapering to a sharp point and forming concave sides along the tip
Acute
tapering to a pointed apex with more or less straight lines
Adaxial
the side towards the axis
Adventitious
structures or organs developing in an unusual position, as roots originating on the stem
Aerial Roots
roots occurring above ground or water
Alternate Leaf Arrangment
leaves borne singly at each node
Apical Meristem
undifferentiated, actively dividing tissues growing at the tips of shoots and roots
Axil
the point of the upper angle formed between the axis of a steam and any part (usually a leaf) arising from it
Blade
the board part of a leaf or petal
Bud
undeveloped shoot or flower
Bulb
an underground bud with thickened fleshy scales, as in the onion
Caudex
the persistent often wody base of a herbaceous perennial
Cladode
under cladophyll, a steam with the form and function of a leaf
Compound Leafe
a leaf separated into two or more distinct leaflets
Cordate
heart-shaped, with the notch at the base
Corm
a short, solid vertical underground stem with thin papery leaves
Dentate
toothed along the margin, the teeth directed outward rather than forward
Elliptical
in the shape of an ellipse, or a narrow oval; broadest at the middle and narrower at the two equal ends
Entire
not toothed, notched, or divided, as in the continuous margins of some leaves
Fibrous Roots
a root system with all of the branches approximately equal thickness, as in the grasses and many monocots
Glabrous
smooth; hairless
Herb
a plant without a persistent above-ground woody stem, stems dying backing to the ground at the end of the growing season
Internode
the portion of the steam between two nodes
Lanceolate
lance-shaped; much longer than wide, with the widest point below the middle
Leaf
an expanded, usually photosynthetic organ of a plant
Leaf scar
the scar remaining on a twig after a leaf falls
Lenticels
a slightly raised, somewhat corky, often lens shaped area on the surface of a young stem (or older stem)
Linear
resembling a line; long and narrow with more or less parallel sides
Lobed
bearing lobes which are cut less than halfway to the base or midvein
Margin
the edge, as in the edge of a leaf blade
Midvein
the central vein
Mucronate
tipped with a short, sharp, abrupt point
Net-veined
in the form of a network; reticulate
Node
the position in the stem where leaves or branches originate
Obcordate
with a deeply notched apex
Oblanceolate
inversely lanceolate, with the attachment at the narrower end
Obovate
inversely ovate, with the attachment at the narrower end
Obtuse
blunt or rounded at the apex
Opposite Leaf Arrangement
leaves borne across from one another at the same node, in pairs
Oval
broadly elliptic, the width over one-half the length
Ovate
egg shaped in outline and attached at the broad end
Parallel-veined
with the main veins parallel to the leaf axis or to each other
Petiole
a leaf stalk
Prop Roots
adventitious roots arising from lower nodes and providing support to a stem
Pubescent
bearing any kind of hairs
Rhizome
a horizontal underground stem
Root
the portion of the plant axis lacking nodes and leaves and usually found below ground
Seed
a ripened ovule
Serrate
saw like; toothed along the margin, the sharp teeth pointing forward
Shoot
a young stem or branch
Shrub
a woody plant, with several stems, that is shorter than a typical tree
Simple
undivided, as a leaf blade which is not separate into leaflets
Stipule
one of a pair of leaflike appendages found at the base of the petiole in some leaves
Stolon
an elongate, horizontal stem creeping along the ground and tooing at the nodes or at the tip and giving rise to a new plant
Taproot
the main root axis from which smaller root branches arise; as in most dicots
Thorn
a stiff, woody, modified stem with a sharp point
Tree
a large woody plant, usually with a single main stem or trunk
Truncate
with the apex squared at the end as if cut off
Tuber (root)
thickened root modified for food storage
Tuber (stem)
the thickened portion of a rhizome bearing nodes and buds; an underground stem modified for food storage
Vascular Bundle Scars
the scar from a cluster or group of vascular tissues (under vascular bundle in Harris & Harris, no mention of scar)
Venation
the pattern of veining on a leaf
Whorled
leaves borne three or more at the same node
Sessile
attached directly without a supporting stalk, as a leaf without a petiole
