Botanical Nerd Word: Stigma
Stigma: The portion of the pistil (female reproductive part of a flower) which is receptive to pollen.* Looking at the bloom on the right side…
Author Archives: Weston Family Library
Botanical Nerd Word: Salverform
Salverform: (Of flower shape) a narrow tube with petals bent abruptly outward at right angles. This blue star creeper, Isotoma axillaris, growing in a container,…
Botanical Nerd Word: Aestivation
Aestivation: The arrangement of sepals and petals in a flower bud before opening.* There are several different types of aestivation patterns. This Hibiscus bloom reveals…
Botanical Nerd Word: Lanate
Lanate: Clothed with woolly and intergrown hairs.* From Latin lana = wool. Check out the young Salvia argentea plants growing in the garden! *Jackson, B….
Botanical Nerd Word: Capreolate
Capreolate: With tendrils.* Many vining plants have tendrils. These peas use their tendrils to grasp and coil around supports. *Harris, J.G., Harris, M.W. (2001). Plant identification…
Botanical Nerd Word: Cruciate
Cruciate (cruciform): Cross-shaped, used especially of the flowers of the Brassicaceae family.* The 4-petalled flowers of Brassicaceae (mustard family) plants, such as this dame’s rocket (Hesperis…
Botanical Nerd Word: Calcar
Calcar: A spur or spur-like appendage.* The petals of columbines (Aquilegia spp.), such as this A. canadensis, form spurs out the back of the blooms….
Botanical Nerd Word: Cauliflorous
Cauliflorous: Developing flowers directly on a stem or trunk.* From Latin caulis = stem or stalk. Redbud trees, Cercis canadensis, are cauliflorous plants. They are able to produce…
Botancial Nerd Word: Vernation
Vernation: The pattern of folding and rolling of leaves in a bud.* Different plants use different folding patterns to pack their leaves into the bud. These beech…
Word of the Week: Urceolate
Urceolate (ur-see-o-late): Pitcher-like, hollow and contracted at the mouth like an urn or pitcher.* The tiny, individual flowers in the inflorescence of grape hyacinth (Muscari…