Botanical Nerd Word: Marcescent
Marcescent (mar-ses-ent): of parts of certain plants, remaining attached to the plant when withered.* Many oak (Quercus spp.) and beech (Fagus spp.) trees have marcescent leaves that persist well into the …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Pectinate
Pectinate: Arranged like the teeth of a comb; usually two-sided with respect to leaves.* Fir trees (Abies sp.) often show pectinate arrangement of their needles. *Eckenwalder, J.E. (2009). Conifers of the …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Equitant
Equitant: Of leaves, overlapping or straddling in two ranks, as the leaves of Iris.* This Phormium (New Zealand Flax plant) in the library shows equitant leaf growth. *Harris, J.G., Harris, M.W. …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Bract
Bract: A leaflike organ subtending an inflorescence. Bracts are sometimes brightly coloured and petal-like, as in poinsettia (Eurphorbia pulcherrima)* Poinsettias are grown for their bright red bracts which surround their small …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Acerose
Acerose: Needle-shaped, as the leaves of pine or spruce.* *Harris, J.G., Harris, M.W. (2001). Plant identification terminology: An illustrated glossary (2nd ed.). Spring Lake: Spring Lake Publishing.
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Botanical Nerd Word: Glabrous
Glabrous: Smooth; lacking hairs.* The leaves of this holly (Ilex) are glossy because they are smooth and hairless. *Allaby, M. (2006). A dictionary of plant sciences (Revised ed.). Oxford: Oxford …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Vernalization
Vernalization: In some species, flowers are formed in spring as a result of the plant […] being given a cold treatment, close to or at freezing temperatures, for several weeks. The …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Hydrophobic
Hydrophobic: Tending to repel, or not to absorb, water.* Impatiens capensis, commonly known as jewelweed or touch-me-not, has hydrophobic leaves. Water drops bead on the surface after a rain and look like …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Secund
Secund: Arranged on one side of the axis only.* The individuals flowers of goldenrod grow along the top side of the stems. *Harris, J.G., Harris, M.W. (2001). Plant identification terminology: …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Trichome
Trichome: A hair or hair-like outgrowth of the epidermis.* The leaves of Tillandsias (air plants) are covered in trichomes. The tiny hairs absorb water directly into the leaves. *Harris, J.G., Harris, …
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