The following glossary provides descriptions and definitions of words used within the practice
of landscape planting and horticulture and are taken from the following references:
Clark, R Purchasing Landscape Trees, a guide to assessing tree quality: Construction
Information Systems Australia Pty. Ltd. 1996
Kelly, J. (Edit). The Hillier Gardener's Guide to Trees and Shrubs; David and Charles, 1995
| Adventitious
root |
A
root which arises from any part of a plant other than in the normal
sequence of growth of the root system. |
| Adventitious
shoot |
A
shoot arising in a position other than the axil of a leaf or at the
tip of a stem |
| Air
pruning |
The
use of bottomless containers or containers with holes in the sides,
to arrest root development |
| Alien |
A
plant originally introduced from other areas |
| Alpine |
A
plant which is indigenous to the zone above the line at which trees
cease to flourish and below the limits of perpetual snow (and by extension,
a plant which will thrive in simulated alpine conditions) |
| Alternate |
(Leaves)
borne singly at each node on opposite sides of the stem |
| Annual |
A
plant which grows from seed, flowers, fruits and dies within one year |
| Anther |
Pollen/bearing
part of the stamen |
| Apical
dominance |
Of
growth, the dominance of the terminal bud to the lateral buds |
| Aquatic
plant |
A
non-woody plant suitable for growing within in shallow water or in
saturated soil |
| Axil |
Angle
formed by a leaf or lateral branch with the stem, or that formed by
a vein with the midrib |
| Axillary |
Produced
in the axil |
| Bedding
plant |
A
plant suitable for short term displays in an ornamental bed |
| Berry |
Strictly
a pulpy, normally several- seeded, indehiscent fruit |
| Biennial |
A
plant which grows from seed one year and flowers, fruits and dies
the next (Note: Certain short lived perennials, e.g. Dianthus barbatus
Sweet Williams, are commonly treated as biennials |
| Bipinnate |
Twice
pinnate |
| Bisexual |
Both
male and female organs in the same flower |
| Blade |
Expanded
part of a leaf or petal |
| Bloom |
A
fine powder-like, waxy deposit |
| Bog
plant |
A
plant which thrives in permanently wet soil |
| Bole |
Trunk, of a tree |
| Bract |
Modified,
usually reduced leaf at the base of flowers/stalk, flower/cluster
or shoot |
| Bud
sport |
A
shoot produced by a sudden and permanent change in vegetative cells
in a growing point, causing a change of character |
| Budded |
Produced
by obtaining a union between a bud from one plant and a rooted portion
of another (the stock) |
| Bulblet |
A
small immature bulb developed from seed, arising at the base of a
parent bulb or in the axil of a leaf |
| Calcicole |
Of
plants which thrive in a soil containing free calcium compounds |
| Calcifuge |
Of
plant which will not tolerate a soil containing free calcium compounds |
| Callus |
New
tissue which forms over a wound |
| Calyx |
Outer
part of a flower, the sepals |
| Cambium |
The
layer of actively dividing cells between bark and wood |
| Capsule |
Dry,
several-celled pod |
| Catkin |
Normally
dense spike or spike-like raceme of tiny, scaly-bracted flowers or
fruits |
| Central
leader |
The
clearly defined single, dominant stem at the top of the tree |
| Ciliate |
Fringed
with hairs |
| Cladode |
Flattened
leaf-like stem |
| Collar |
The
position of the main stem or stems of a plant which coincides with
the surface level of the soil |
| Columnar |
Tall
and cylindrical or tapering |
| Compound |
Composed
of two or more similar parts |
| Conical |
Cone-shaped |
| Coniferous |
Cone
bearing (mainly evergreen) |
| Container
grown |
Having
been individually grown from propagation in a container |
| Containerised |
Having
been transferred at some stage of development (usually prior to transplanting)
into a container for purposes of sale, transport or decorative effect |
| Cordate |
Shaped
like a heart |
| Corolla |
Inner,
normally conspicuous, part of a flower, the petals |
| Corymb |
Flat-topped
or dome-shaped flower head with the outer flowers opening first |
| Cotyledon
stage |
The
stage of growth of a seedling at which seed leaves have developed
above ground stage |
| Crenate |
Toothed
with shallow, rounded teeth, scalloped |
| Crown |
The
base of an herbaceous perennial where stem and root meet and from
which fresh shoots and roots arise |
| Cyme |
Flat-topped
or domed-shaped flower head with the inner flowers opening first |
| Deciduous |
(Of
tree or shrub) that sheds its leaves each year at the end of the period
of growth |
| Deciduous |
Shedding
all its leaves before the emergence of next season's leaves |
| Decumbent |
Reclining,
the tips ascending |
| Dentate |
Toothed
with teeth directed outward |
| Digitate |
With
the members arising form one point like fingers |
| Dioecious |
Bearing
male and female flowers on different plants |
| Dissected |
Divided
into many narrow segments |
| Division |
A
form of propagation by splitting clumps of a plant, or by separating
the rhizomes in a clump |
| Dormancy |
A
state of greatly reduced metabolism in which a plant or part of a
plant is alive but not growing |
| Double |
(Flowers)
with more than the usual number of petals, often with the style and
stamens changed to petals |
| Doubly
serrate |
Large
teeth and small teeth alternating |
| Downy |
Covered
with soft hair or down |
| Elliptic |
Widest
at or about the middle, narrowing equally at both ends |
| Embryo |
A
rudimentary plant within a seed |
| Entire |
Undivided
and without teeth |
| Ephemeral |
A
short-lived annual, capable of producing more than one generation
in one season |
| Evergreen |
Remaining
green during the winter |
| Evergreen |
Having
leaves all the year round |
| F1 |
First
filial generation, the immediate offspring of cross-fertilisation.
A term used commercially to designate a generation FO seed or resulting
plants which does not transmit all its desirable characteristics and
can be obtained only by a repetition of the cross |
| F2 |
Second
filial generation, arising from the inter-crossing or self-fertilisation
of an F1 generation |
| Fastigiate |
With
branches erect and close together |
| Fertile |
Of
stamens producing food pollen or fruit containing good seeds, or of
stems with flowering organs |
| Fibrous
roots |
Roots
which are relatively thin, much branched throughout and have ample
fine growth |
| Filament |
Stalk
of a stamen |
| Florets |
Small,
individual flowers of a dense inflorescence |
| Glabrous |
Hairless |
| Graft
chimera |
A
plant composed of tissues from two cytologically different plants |
| Grafted |
Produced
by obtaining a union between a shoot (the scion) of one plant and
a rooted portion of another (the stock) |
| Ground
cover |
A
group of plants which by their natural habit of low, close growth
are suitable for covering the ground surface and discouraging weeds |
| Half-hardy
annual |
An
annual, or a plant commonly as an annual, which cannot be grown in
the open before the warm season of the year; usually raised from seed
under glass for summer display in the open |
| Harden
off |
Gradually
to accustom to more rigorous conditions seedlings or other plants
which have been growing in a protected environment |
| Hardy
Able |
to
thrive in a given climate all the year round without special protection |
| Heath
plant |
A
heather or plant suitable for growing in the same dry and sandy conditions
as heather |
| Heel |
A
portion of older tissue at the base of a young shoot torn or cut from
its parent |
| Herb |
A
flowering plant of which the stem does not become woody and which
generally dies to the ground at the end of the season |
| Hermaphrodite |
Bisexual,
bearing both male and female organs in the same flower |
| High
or Top worked |
Grafted
or budded at the point of the future crotch of standard or half standard
tree |
| Incised |
Sharp
and usually deeply and irregularly cut |
| Indehiscent |
Said
of fruits which do not (burst) open |
| Indigenous |
Having
origin in a particular locality, district, county or country |
| Indumentum |
Dense
hairy covering |
| Inflorescence |
Flowering
part of the plant |
| Internode |
Portion
of stem between two nodes or jointS |
| Involucre |
Whorl
of bracts surrounding a flower or flower cluster |
| Lanceolate |
Lance-shaped,
widening above the base and long-tapering to the apex |
| Lateral |
On
or at the side |
| Layer |
A
plant produced by layering |
| Leader |
The
main terminal shoot at the apex of a stem or principal branch |
| Leaflet |
Part
of a compound leaf |
| Linear |
Long
and narrow with nearly parallel margins |
| Low
worked |
Grafted
or budded at or near ground level |
| Marginal
plant |
A
plant capable of adapting its self to growing either in shallow water
or in saturated soil |
| Mature |
Of
trees, fully developed |
| Midrib |
Central
vein or rib of a leaf |
| Monoecious |
Baring
male and female flowers separately, but on the same plant |
| Mother
bulb |
A
bulb, especially a Narcissus bulb, which has formed a number of offsets,
all of which, however, remain attached, giving the appearance of a
single bulb |
Mother plant |
The
parent plant from which all subsequent stock of a particular variety,
clone, cultivar or strain have been derived |
| Mutant |
A plant with new characteristics resulting from a heritable change
(mutation) in the reproductive cells |
| Native |
An
indigenous plant |
| Naturalised |
Having
been introduced, and colonised, placed when not indigenous |
| Node |
Point
on the stem where the leaves are attached, the 'joint' |
| Notch |
planting
Planting by setting a tree's roots in a vertical notch, or group of
notches, cut in the soil with a spade or mattock, and specified in
I-notch, L-notch, H-notch planting according to the shape of the notch(es) |
| Nut |
Non-splitting,
one-seeded, hard or bony fruit |
| Obovate |
Inversely
ovate |
| Obtuse |
Blunt
(as in apex of leaf or petal) |
| Offset |
A
new plant formed from a short, rooted side/growth, which can be detached
from its parent |
| One
year budded |
Having
been grown for one season in a nursery plant bed after propagation |
| Open
ground grown |
Having
been established and grown in the ground without protection and not
in a container or frame |
| Opposite |
(Leaves)
born two to each node, opposite to each other |
| Oval |
Broadest
at the middle |
| Ovary |
Basal
'Box' part of the pistil, containing the ovules |
| Ovate |
Broadest
below the middle |
| Ovule |
Female
germ cell in flowering plant |
| Palmate |
Lobed
or divided in hand/like fashion, usually five or seven lobed |
| Panicle |
Branching
raceme |
| Paniculate |
Bearing
flowers in panicles |
| Pedicel |
Stalk
of an individual flower in an inflorescence |
| Peduncle |
Stalk
of a flower cluster or a solitary flower |
| Pendulous |
Hanging,
weeping |
| Perennial |
Living
for several years |
| Perfoliate |
Of
leaves in pairs fused at the base whose stem appears to pass through
them |
| Perianth |
Calyx
and corolla together; also commonly used for a flower in which there
is no distinction between corolla and calyx |
| Pernicious |
Persistent
and having qualities harmful to other plants |
| Persistent |
Remaining
attached |
| Petal |
One
of the separate segments of the corolla |
| Petaloid |
Petal-like
(as in a stamen) |
| Petiole |
Leaf-stalk |
| Pinnate |
With
leaflets arranged on either side of a central stalk |
| Pistil |
Female
organ of a flowering plant comprising ovary, style and stigma |
| Pit
planting |
Planting
in a prepared pit |
| Plumose |
Feather,
as the down of a thistle |
| Pollard
|
To
cut off all the branches of a tree, leaving only the trunk |
| Pollen |
Spores
or grains contained in the anther, containing the male element |
| Polygamous |
Bearing
bisexual and unisexual flowers on the same plant |
| Procumbent |
Lying
or creeping |
| Propagation |
The
production of plants, by sexual, asexual or vegetative means |
| Prostrate |
Lying
flat on the ground |
| Pubescent |
Covered
with short, soft hairs, downy |
| Raceme |
Simple
elongated inflorescence with stalked flowers |
| Reniform |
Kidney-shaped |
| Reticulate |
Like
a network (as in veins) |
| Rhizome |
A
prostrate thickened stem emitting roots and capable of producing leafy
shoots and flowering stems from lateral and terminal buds |
| Rib |
Prominent
vein in leaf |
| Rogue |
A
plant differing from , wrongly placed, or appearing in a batch of
otherwise uniform plants |
| Root
bound |
Having
roots restricted, due to confined conditions, and unable to extend,
resulting in a root mass |
| Rootstock |
The
rooted portion of a plant or a root upon which one or more scions
are to be or have been worked |
| Rugose |
Wrinkled
or rough |
| Runner
|
Trailing
shoot taking root at the nodes |
| Runner |
A
young elongated prostrate herbaceous stem producing new plant at nodes |
| Sagittate |
Shaped
like an arrowhead |
| Scabrous |
Rough
to the touch |
| Scale |
Minute
leaf or bract, or a flat gland/like appendage on the surface of a
leaf, flower or shoot |
| Scandant |
With
climbing stems |
| Scion |
The
part of a plant used to provide the shoot system when grafted upon
the root stock |
| Scree
plant |
A
plant which is indigenous to mountain scree or adaptable to planting
on a site simulating a mountain scree and mainly composed of loose
stones |
| Semi-evergreen |
Evergreen
in its normal habitat but liable to shed some or all of its leaves
under rigorous conditions |
| Sepal
|
One
of the segments of the calyx |
| Serrate |
Saw-toothed |
| Sessile |
Attached
without a stalk |
| Simple |
Said
of a leaf that is not compound or an unbranched inflorescence |
| Spathulate |
Spoon-shaped |
| Spike |
Simple,
elongated inflorescence with sessile flowers |
| Sport |
A
plant propagated vegetatively from a bud sport |
| Spur |
A
short stubby lateral branch with short internodes |
| Stamen |
Male
organ of a flowering plant comprising filament and anther |
| Standard |
Largest,
normally uppermost petal in a pea-flower; tall, clear-stemmed young
tree; shrub (often rose) trained in this fashion |
| Stellate |
Star-shaped |
| Stem |
The
main body of the portion above ground of a shrub, tree or other plant |
| Sterile |
Incapable
of producing viable seed |
| Stigma |
Summit
of the pistil which receives the pollen, often sticky or feathery |
| Stipule |
Appendage
(normally two ) at the base of some petioles |
| Stolon |
Shoot
at or below the surface of the ground which produces a new plant at
its tip |
| Stool |
The
base of a woody plant which has been cut down to produce new shoots
for propagation purposes, ornamental effect or small timber production
(coppice) |
| Stooled |
Cut
back to ground level annually or less frequently but regularly |
| Style |
Middle
part of the pistil, often elongated between the ovary and stigma |
| Sub-shrub |
A
shrub -like plant, but with woody parts confined to the lower portion
of the plant |
| Succulent |
Juicy,
flesh, soft and thickened in texture |
| Sucker |
A
woody shoot arising from an underground stem or root; or a shoot arising
from the understock of a worked plant |
| Suckering |
Producing
underground stems; also the shoots from the stock of a grafted plant |
| Tender |
Only
able to grow without protection in mild climatic conditions |
| Tendril |
Twining
thread-like appendage |
| Tepal |
Subdivision
of a perianth that cannot be clearly differentiated into sepal or
petal |
| Tomentose |
With
dense, woolly pubescence |
| Tray |
A
seed tray (or one used for plug production) of standard dimensions |
| Trifoliate |
Three-leafed |
| Trunk |
The
main stem of a tree |
Tuber |
A
short, thick, usually underground, modified stem, of one year's duration,
in which food reserves are stored, and which usually has buds (eyes)
from which new plants are produced |
| Umbel |
Normally
flat-topped inflorescence in which the pedicels or peduncles all arise
from a common point |
| Umbellate |
Flowers
in umbels |
Undercutting |
The
operation of severing downward growing plant roots in situ, to control
root development; usually by machine |
| Understock |
The
rooted portion of a plant used for propagation by budding or grafting |
| Union |
In
a worked plant, the junction of scion and rootstock |
| Unisexual |
Of
one sex |
| Venation |
Arrangement
of veins |
| Verrucose |
Having
a wart-like nodular surface |
| Waterside
plant |
A
plant suitable for growing in the edge of water and tolerant of periodic
flooding |
| Weed |
A
plant where it is not intended to be |
| Well-furnished |
Having
even and adequate branches, spurs, leaf growth and bud formation |
| Whorl |
Three
of more flowers or leaves arranged in a ring |
| Wilding |
Any
plant occurring naturally |
| Woodland
plant |
A
plant suitable for growing under a degree of shade and drip from trees |
| Woody |
Composed
in part of wood or hard wood-like tissue |
| Worked |
Produced
by budding or grafting |