Glossary of plant morphology

Comprehensive glossary of plant morphology terms

Glossary of Plant Morphology

The study of plant morphology involves understanding the structure and form of plants. This glossary provides definitions and explanations of terms commonly used in the field of plant morphology.

A

• Acaulescent: Refers to plants that appear to have no stem, or a very short stem, with leaves arranged at the base.
• Achene: A small, dry, one-seeded fruit that does not open to release the seed.
• Adventitious: Describes roots or shoots that grow from an unusual position, such as roots growing from stems or leaves.

B

• Basal: Pertaining to the base of a plant or plant part, often referring to leaves that grow at the base of a stem.
• Berry: A fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary, containing one or more seeds.
• Bract: A modified leaf or scale, typically small, associated with a flower or inflorescence.

C

• Calyx: The outermost whorl of a flower, composed of sepals, which protect the developing bud.
• Capsule: A dry fruit that opens when ripe to release seeds.
• Compound leaf: A leaf with a blade divided into multiple leaflets.

D

• Deciduous: Plants that shed their leaves annually.
• Drupe: A fleshy fruit with a single seed enclosed in a hard endocarp, such as a peach or cherry.
• Dioecious: Refers to plant species that have male and female flowers on separate plants.

E

• Epiphyte: A plant that grows on another plant for physical support but is not parasitic.
• Evergreen: Plants that retain their leaves throughout the year.
• Exocarp: The outer layer of the pericarp, or fruit wall.

F

• Fascicle: A bundle or cluster of leaves or flowers.
• Filament: The stalk of a stamen, supporting the anther.
• Follicle: A dry fruit that opens on one side to release seeds.

G

• Glabrous: Lacking hairs or trichomes; smooth.
• Glaucous: Covered with a waxy or powdery coating that gives a bluish-green appearance.
• Gynoecium: The female reproductive part of a flower, consisting of one or more carpels.

H

• Herbaceous: Plants with non-woody stems that die back at the end of the growing season.
• Hypanthium: A cup-like structure formed by the fusion of the bases of the sepals, petals, and stamens.
• Hypogynous: Refers to flowers with ovary positioned above the other floral parts.

I

• Inflorescence: The arrangement of flowers on a plant.
• Internode: The segment of a plant stem between two nodes.
• Involucre: A whorl of bracts surrounding a flower or flower cluster.

J

• Juvenile: The early stage of a plant's life cycle, before it reaches maturity.

K

• Keel: A ridge or projection, often referring to the lower petals of a pea flower.

L

• Lamina: The flat, expanded part of a leaf.
• Lenticel: A small, spongy area on the surface of stems that allows gas exchange.
• Lobe: A rounded or pointed projection, often referring to parts of leaves or petals.

M

• Meristem: A region of plant tissue, found at the tips of roots and shoots, where active cell division occurs.
• Monoecious: Refers to plant species that have both male and female flowers on the same plant.
• Morphology: The study of the form and structure of organisms.

N

• Node: The part of a plant stem where leaves or branches are attached.
• Nut: A hard, indehiscent fruit with a single seed.

O

• Ovary: The part of the pistil that contains the ovules and develops into fruit after fertilization.
• Ovule: The structure within the ovary that develops into a seed after fertilization.

P

• Palisade mesophyll: The layer of cells in a leaf where most photosynthesis occurs.
• Panicle: A branched inflorescence with flowers on short stalks.
• Petiole: The stalk that attaches a leaf blade to the stem.

Q

• Quercus: The genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as oaks.

R

• Raceme: A simple inflorescence with flowers on short stalks along a central axis.
• Rhizome: A horizontal underground stem that often sends out roots and shoots.
• Rosette: A circular arrangement of leaves, typically at the base of a plant.

S

• Sepal: A part of the flower, typically green, that encloses the petals and forms a protective layer around a flower bud.
• Stamen: The male reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of an anther and a filament.
• Stipule: A small leaf-like appendage at the base of a leaf stalk.

T

• Tendril: A slender, coiling structure that supports climbing plants.
• Tepal: A segment of the outer whorl of a flower, when sepals and petals are indistinguishable.
• Trichome: A small hair or other outgrowth from the epidermis of a plant.

U

• Umbel: An inflorescence with flower stalks of nearly equal length that spread from a common point, resembling an umbrella.

V

• Vascular bundle: A strand of conducting vessels in the stem or leaves of a plant.
• Venation: The arrangement of veins in a leaf.

W

• Whorl: A circular arrangement of leaves, flowers, or branches at a single point on a stem.

X

• Xylem: The tissue in vascular plants that conducts water and dissolved nutrients upward from the roots.

Y

• Yam: A tuberous root vegetable, often referring to species in the genus Dioscorea.

Z

• Zygomorphic: Refers to flowers that can be divided into equal halves in only one plane.

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