Glossary of Horticulture Terms
A, B, C, D, E-G, H-L, M-O, P, Q-R, S, T, U-Z
|
| Ellipsoid |
Elliptical in section, like a football. |
| Entire |
Neither toothed nor lobed, as applied to
leaves. |
| Ephemeral |
Persisting for one day only, of short duration. |
| Epidermis |
Outer skin of the twig; sometimes peeling
or cracking during the first winter; ultimately destroyed
by growth in diameter of the twig. |
| Epiphyte |
A plant growing on another without being
a parasite (orchid) or on a rock or tree trunk (moss,
lichen). Contrasted usually with plants rooted in the
soil; sometimes parasites. |
| Erect |
Upright habit of growth. |
| Espalier |
Any plant trained lattice fashion in one
plane. |
| Evergreen |
Holding or having green foliage through
the winter. |
| Excavated |
Hollowed out, as applied to pith, making
the stem fistulous. |
| Exfoliating |
Peeling away. |
| Exserted |
Projecting beyond, as stamens beyond a corolla. |
| Extra-axillary |
Above rather than in the axil. Same as supra-axillary. |
| Falcate |
Sickle shaped. |
| Falls |
The outer whorl of petals of an iris flower,
often broader than the inner petals and often drooping
or flexuous. |
| Fasciated |
Abnormally much flattened, and seemingly
several units fused together. |
| Fascicled |
Clustered, like the leaves on a spur of
barberry. |
| Fastigiate |
With upright branches. |
| Fibrous |
Having long narrow shreds or flakes. |
| Filimentous |
Thread-like. |
| Filiform |
Thread-like, long and very slender. |
| Fissured |
Torn lengthwise, in vertical furrows, as
applied to bark, or to pith, for which the more general
term spongy is used. |
| Fistulous |
Hollow, with excavated pith. |
| Flaking |
Shredding, but with short segments. |
| Fleshy |
For a stem, not hard and woody; for a fruit
or bud scales, not dry. Succulent. |
| Floret |
Technically a minute flower; applied to
the flowers of grasses and Composites. |
| Fluted |
Grooved. |
| Foliage |
Leaves. |
| Follicle |
A small dry fruit opening down one edge.
Ex. Columbine, milkweed |
| Form |
A subdivision of species which occurs occasionally
in the wild, seldom breeds true, and does not develop
a natural population or distribution. |
| Fragmented |
Not continuous, as applied to bundle scars. |
| Fringed |
Ciliate with glands or scales rather than
fine hairs. |
| Frond |
A leaf, once applied only to the leaves
of ferns but now also said of the leaves of palms too. |
| Fruticose |
Shrubby, in the sense of the stems being
woody. |
| Fusiform |
Spindle-shaped; tapering to each end from
a smaller mid-section. |
| Genus |
A group of species possessing fundamental
traits in common but differing in other lesser characteristics. |
| Glabrate |
Nearly glabrous. |
| Glabrescent |
Becoming smooth. |
| Glabrous |
Smooth. |
| Glands |
Secreting organs. Leaf teeth and stipules
often end in minute glands. |
| Glandular-bristly |
With stiff gland-tipped hairs. |
| Glandular-ciliate |
Fringed with small glands. |
| Glandular-pubescent |
With gland-tipped hairs. |
| Glaucous |
Covered with a white or bluish bloom which
can usually be rubbed off easily. |
| Globose |
Shaped like a globe; spherical. |
| Glossy |
Shining, reflecting more light than if lustrous. |
| Growth habit |
General appearance or mode of growth. |
