Glossary of Horticulture Terms
A, B, C, D, E-G, H-L, M-O, P, Q-R, S, T, U-Z
|
| Caducous |
Falling away early or prematurely. |
| Calyx |
The outer floral envelop, consisting of
sepals. |
| Calcarate |
Having a spur. |
| Callus |
A hard protuberance, or the new tissues
formed in response to a wound. |
| Calyx |
The outer set of perianth segments or floral
envelope of a flower, usually green in color and smaller
than the inner set. |
| Campanulate |
Bell shaped. |
| Canes |
A long woody pliable stem rising from the
ground. The long shoots of blackberry, grape, etc. |
| Canescent |
Ash-colored, with gray hairs. |
| Capillary |
Hair-like; very slender. |
| Capitate |
Headlike, in a dense rounded cluster. |
| Capsule |
A dry fruit derived from a compound pistil,
and opening in one of a number of ways. |
| Caryopsis |
The fruit of members of the grass family;
not basically distinct from an achene. |
| Castaneous |
Dark brown. |
| Catkin |
A spike-like inflorescence comprised of
scaly bracts subtending unisexual flowers; often somewhat
flexuous and pendulous but not necessarily so. Ex.- the
flowers of willows or poplars. |
| Caulescent |
Having an evident leaf-bearing stem above
ground. |
| Cauliflorous |
Flowering on the trunk or on specialized
spurs from it or from the larger branches (redbud). |
| Ceriferous |
Waxy. |
| Cernuous |
Drooping or nodding. |
| Chambered |
Said of pith when divided into small, empty
compartments separated by transverse partitions. With
cavities separated by plates or disks, as applied to pith;
discoid. |
| Channeled |
Grooved lengthwise. |
| Ciliate |
Hairy on the margin, like the eyelids. |
| Clasping |
A stalkless leaf, with the base partly surrounding
the stem. Growing around; amplexicaul. |
| Claw |
The constricted petiole-like base of petals
and sepals of some flowers. |
| Cleft |
Divided to or about the middle into divisions. |
| Cleistogamous |
Describes a small, closed self-fertilized
flower, usually near the ground. |
| Climber |
A plant which raises its foliage by supporting
itself on surrounding objects, either by twining or coiling
them (bittersweet), by the aid of tendrils (greenbrier,
Virginia creeper) or aerial roots (ivy), or by scrambling
over them without either coiling or having such specialized
organs of attachment (rose). |
| Clone |
A group of plants derived vegetatively from
one parent plant, identical to each other and to the parent. |
| Clustered |
Said of leaves, crowded so as not to be
clearly opposite or alternate, also said of the whorled
condition. |
| Coherent |
Two or more similar parts or organs touching
one another in very close proximity by the tissues not
fused. |
| Collateral |
Said of extra or supernumerary buds that
are inserted on either side of a normal axillary bud.
Said of buds that grow side by side. |
| Comose |
Tufted with hairs. |
| Complete flower |
One that has corolla, calyx, stamens and
one or more pistils. |
| Composite |
Compound; the common name of a member of
the Compositae. |
| Compound leaf |
A leaf of two or more leaflets, in some
cases (Citrus) the lateral leaflets may have been lost
and only the terminal leaflet remain.
Ternately compound- when the leaflets are in threes;
palmately compound- when three or more leaflets arise
from a common point;
Pinnately compound- when the leaflets are arranged
along a common rachis or if only three are present at
least the terminal leaflet is petioled;
Odd-pinnate- if a ternimal leaflet is present and the
total number of leaflets is an odd number;
Even-pinnate- if no terminal leaflet is present and
the total number of leaflets is an even number.
|
| Compressed |
Flattened from the sides, as applied to
nodes or buds. |
| Concave |
Curved like the inner surface of a sphere. |
| Cone |
A coniferous fruit, having a number of woody,
leathery, or fleshy scales, each bearing one or more seeds,
and attached to a central axis. |
| Conelet |
A young, immature first season cone, in
the pines. |
| Confluent |
Blending together, not easily distinguishable
apart, as applied to bundle-traces. |
| Conical |
Cone shaped, as he young form of many spruces. |
| Coniferous |
Cone bearing. |
| Connate |
Like parts fused together into one, fused
in to a tube. |
| Continuous |
Said of pith which is solid; not spongy,
chambered or interrupted by cavities. |
| Convex |
Curved like the outer surface of a sphere. |
| Coppice |
Growth arising from sprouts at the stump,
bushy. |
| Cordate |
Heart shaped. |
| Corky |
Soft and springy. |
| Corky-ridged |
With elongated warts or ridges on the bark. |
| Corm |
A solid bulb-like underground stem not differentiated
into scales, often depressed-globose in form, bearing
scale-like buds on the surface, usually tunicated. Ex.
Gladiolus, crocus |
| Cormel |
A small corm arising from the base of a
parent corm. |
| Corolla |
The inner floral envelope, consisting of
petals. |
| Corona |
A crown; an appendage or extrusion that
stands between the corolla and stamens; an out gowth of
perianth tissue in the "cup" of Narcissus, or of the androecium
in milkweeds. |
| Cortex |
The rind or outer covering of a stem; technically
it lies outside of the vascular bundles, which constitute
the stele. |
| Corymb |
A more or less flat-topped indeterminate
inflorescence whose outer flowers open first. Ex. Viburnum |
| Cottony |
Much the same as woolly, with white hairs. |
| Cotyledon |
The primary leaves of the embryo, present
in the seed. |
| Creeping |
Prostrate and spreading over the ground. |
| Crenate |
Scalloped; with rounded teeth. |
| Crenate-serrate |
Having a mixture of blunt and sharp teeth. |
| Crenulate |
Finely crenate. |
| Crisped |
Wavy on the margin; short and curly when
applied to pubescence. |
| Cruciform |
Cross shaped. |
| Cucullate |
Hooded. |
| Culm |
Stem of grasses and sedges. |
| Cultivar |
A cultivated variety; does not occur naturally. |
| Cuneate |
Wedge-shaped with an essentially straight
side, the structure attached at the narrow end. |
| Cuspidate |
With an apex somewhat abruptly and concavely
constricted into an elongated sharp-pointed tip. |
| Cuticle |
The outermost layer of epidermal cell walls. |
| Cymbiform |
Boat shaped. |
| Cyme |
A more or less flat-topped determinate inflorescence
whose outer flowers open last. Ex. Sambucus |
