Botanical Nerd Word: Culm
Culm: A hollow or pithy stalk or stem, as in the grasses, sedges, and rushes.* Besides adding winter interest to the garden, grasses provide homes for many native insects which overwinter …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Cladode
Cladode: A stem with the form and function of a leaf.* The sectional stems of Christmas cactus are examples of cladodes. *Harris, J.G., Harris, M.W. (2001). Plant identification terminology: An illustrated …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Resin
Resin: A highly viscous, sticky, flammable, typically aromatic substance secreted by certain trees (esp. conifers, notably fir and pine) and other plants.* Resin is the sticky substance that’s very hard to …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Leaf Scar
Leaf Scar: The scar remaining on a twig after a leaf falls.* The shape of the leaf scar, its relation to the new buds, and the number and position of bundle …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Caespitose
Caespitose: Growing in dense tufts.* Many grasses have a caespitose growth habit, including these Miscanthus plants. *Harris, J.G., Harris, M.W. (2001). Plant identification terminology: An illustrated glossary (2nd ed.). Spring Lake: …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Strict
Strict: Very straight and upright, not at all spreading.* This arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) in the Knot Garden has a very upright growth habit. *Harris, J.G., Harris, M.W. (2001). Plant identification terminology: An …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Bundle Trace
Bundle trace (syn. bundle scar): Scar left on a twig by the vascular bundles when a leaf falls.* Different plants have different numbers of bundle traces in their leaf scars. They …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Ligneous
Ligneous: Woody.* Now that the frosty weather is setting in, it’s easy to see which plants are ligneous. Herbaceous plants die back to the ground while ligneous plants like trees …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Exfoliate
Exfoliate: To peel of in flakes or layers, as the bark of some trees.* The exfoliating bark of paperbark maples make them a great choice for winter interest in the garden. …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Imparipinnate
Imparipinnate: Pinnately compound with an odd number of leaflets, terminating in a single leaflet. Syn. Odd-pinnate* For example, the leaves of this sumac. *Pell, S.K., Angell, B. (2016). A botanist’s …
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