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…
Author Archives: Weston Family Library
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…
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…
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.,…
Botanical Nerd Word: Pinnate
Pinnate: Leaf with veins, lobes, leaflets, or dissections arising along a central elongate axis.* These beech leaves (Fagus sylvatica) have a pinnate vein pattern. *Pell, S.K.,…
Botanical Nerd Word: Palmatifid
Palmatifid: Of a leaf shape which is shaped like a hand but with the leaf divisions stopping half-way down the ‘fingers.’* The palmatifid leaves of this…
Botanical Nerd Word: Anemochory
Anemochory: Dispersal of fruits and seeds by wind.* Milkweed pods (Asclepias tuberosa) are opening up and releasing their fluffy seeds in the garden and ravine….
Botanical Nerd Word: Tussock
Tussock: A tuft or clump of grasses or sedges.* Tussocks of grasses blowing in the breeze are a mainstay of the autumn garden. *Harris, J.G., Harris,…
Botanical Nerd Word: Pyriform
Pyriform: Shaped like a pear.* Although pears are the most obvious example, pyriform can be used to refer to any pear-shaped fruit, such as pear-shaped…
Botanical Nerd Word: Limbate
Limbate: Bordered, as in a leaf or flower in which one colour forms an edging or margin around another.* Many variegated plants follow this two-tone…