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*NEW* GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL
TERMS (Words you probably won't find in your pocket
dictionary.)
Albino:
(adj) A plant seedling that is void of any chlorophyll and usually bright white.
Once it has exhausted the nutrients in its seed, it will die.
Albo-variegata:
(adj) A type of variegation in which the middle of the leaf is colored (usually
green) and the outer edges of the leaf are white or yellow.
See medio-picta.
Annual: (adj) A
plant that sprouts, grows, flowers, and dies within one year.
See Perrenial.
Anthesis: (n) The period of a plant's reproductive system beginning when the
male flowers are producing pollen and the female flowers are exuding nectar and
are receptive. This is the period when the plant's natural pollinators
(bees, flies, wasps, bats, wind, etc.) are present to transfer the pollen.
Bi-pinnate: (adj)
On fishtail palms, the leaves branch to two orders with leaflets on the
secondary branches.
Bromeliad: (n) A family of tropical and sub-tropical air plants that come
primarily from Central and South America. They grow on trees, logs, rocks,
or anything they can attach to. They are not parasitic and do not harm
their host plant.
Caudex:
(n) The bulb on a cycad from which the new flush of leaves emerges. It
becomes the cycad's trunk in time. Many cycads are priced based on the
width of their caudex.
Chlorophyll: (n)
The green substance found in plant cells.
Coir: (n) A
fibrous sheet found in between the fronds of some palm trees. It is often
used to line hanging baskets.
Cold-hardy: (adj)
A plant with the ability to survive in low temperatures- usually under freezing
(32deg F, 0deg C).
Crownshaft: (n)
The base of the fronds on some palms where they attach to the trunk. It
wraps around the top of the trunk with a tube-like appearance and is typically a
different color than the rest of the palm. Crownshafts can be red, white,
purple, green, orange, yellow, gray, black, or variegated.
Cultivar: (n) A
particular type or types of a plant that show morphological differences within
the same species, usually first found in cultivation. Many times, it is a
dwarf or variegated type of a certain plant. For example, Aechmea
chantinii 'Samurai' is a form of Aechmea
chantinii that has albo-marginated leaves.
This variegated form of the plant does not make it a new species, so growers add
a "cultivar" name to it to differentiate it from the pure species.
Dicot: (n) A plant
or tree with multiple growth points. Oaks, pines, and eucalyptus are
dicots.
Diecious: (adj) A
plant or tree that only produces flowers of one sex, thus it relies on another
plant of the opposite sex to reproduce.
Epiphyte: (n) A
plant that grows on another plant's trunk, stems, or roots.
Flush: (n) A brand
new set of leaves that emerge from the top of a plant. (v) When a brand
new set of leaves are emerging from the top of a plant. Common in cycads
and ferns.
Genus: (n) The
first word in a typical botanical name for a plant or tree. For example,
Dypsis is the genus in Dypsis
lutescens (Golden Cane Palm). The genus
is always italicized when typing. See Species.
Heart: (n) Growth
point. The part of a palm or plant where new stem cells are produced and
become a new leaf or reproductive system. It is cut out of some palm
species, such as Euterpe precatoria,
and eaten as a delicacy.
If the heart is damaged the plant will often die.
Heterogeny: (n)
Caused when two plants are cross-pollinated and the resulting hybrid displays
the best traits of both of its parents.
Infructescence:
(n) The reproductive part of a plant in its fruit-bearing stage.
Inflorescence: (n)
The reproductive part of a plant in its flowering stage.
Intergeneric: (adj)
Two plants from two different genus. Often used when referring to hybrids.
Wodyetia bifurcata hybridizes with
Veitchia arecina to make an intergeneric
hybrid called Wodveitchia.
Interspecific: (adj)
Two plants in the same genus. Often used when referring to hybrids.
Syagrus schizophylla hybridizes with
Syagrus romanzoffiana to make an
interspecific hybrid called Syagrus xMontgomeryana.
Both parent plants are Syagrus.
Leaf-base scars:
(n) The rings on a palm's trunk where the leaf sheaths detach. The
distance between the leaf-base scars often indicates how fast-growing the palm
tree is and can also be used to figure out when past years of drought or stress
occured.
Medio-picta: (adj)
A type of variegation in which the middle of the leaf is white or yellow and the
outer edges of the leaf are colored (usually green). See
Albo-variegata
Monocarpic: (adj)
A plant that ends its life with its reproductive cycle. Once all of its
seeds have ripened fully, the plant begins to die. Found in most
bromeliads and some palms including: Arenga,
Caryota, Corypha, and Tahina
genus.
Monocot: (n) A
plant or tree that has only one growth point. Most palms and cycads are
monocots.
Monoecious: (adj)
Hermaphroditic. A plant or tree that produces both male and female flowers
for reproduction all on its own.
Perlite: (n) Also
called sponge rock, it is a very lightweight white substance used to prevent
soil from breaking down. It is long-lasting. It absorbs and holds
80% and drains 20% of the water that comes into contact with it.
See Pumice.
Perrenial: (adj) A
plant with a life cycle of two or more years.
See Annual.
Petiole: (n) The
part of a palm's frond between the main trunk and where the leaves begin.
Photosynthesis:
(n) The process through which a plant absorbs sunlight, which reacts with carbon
dioxide and water, to produce the sugars (energy) the plant needs to live and
grow.
Pinnate: (n) A
palm frond that is split into 3 or more segments. Most palms begin as
seedlings with strap leaves which later begin to split and become pinnate.
Most pinnate leaves are structured like a feather.
Pistillate: (adj)
A female flower.
Pumice: (n) A type
of small rock used in soil that helps with drainage. It is typically white
or grey. It absorbes and holds 20% and drains 80% of the water that comes
into contact with it. See Perlite.
Ramenta: (n) A
hair-like substance, usually brown or red in color, found on the trunk,
crownshaft, petioles, or leaf undersides of some palms and cycads.
Rein: (n) A long
string-like piece of a palm's frond that hangs after a new leaf has opened.
Species: (n) The
second word in a typical botanical name of a plant or tree. For example,
lutescens is the species in
Dypsis lutescens (Golden Cane Palm). The
species is always italicized when typing. See Genus.
Staminate: (adj) A
male flower.
Stolon: (n) An
arm-like growth out of the base of a palm or bromeliad which grows a new stem or
plant.
Terrestrial: (adj)
Any plant that grows naturally in the ground.
Tomentum: (n) A
fluffy white substance found on palm and cycad trunks and petioles probably
there to protect and insulate the plant.
Trichome: (n) A
specialized plant cell that absorbs moisture from the air. Common in
bromeliads.
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