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Umbrageous: Forming or affording shade; shady.* There’s nothing like enjoying an umbrageous old tree in the summer. *OED Online. Oxford University Press.

Whorl: A ring-like arrangement of similar parts arising from a common point or node; a verticil.* The leaves of this Veronicastrum virginicum (Culver’s root) are arranged in whorls at each node on the …

Gladiate: Sword-like in appearance.* The sword-shaped leaves of this Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ are almost as striking as its bright red flowers. *Allaby, M. (2006). A dictionary of plant sciences (Revised ed.). …

Stoloniferous: Having stolons, horizontal, above-ground, creeping stems with roots and shoots forming at the nodes and the tip.* Strawberries and spider plants are both well known for reproducing by stolons. …

Frass: The excrement of larvæ; also, the refuse left behind by boring insects.* This year’s huge populations of caterpillars are producing large amounts of caterpillar frass. While the caterpillars may be …

Funiculus: The stalk by which an ovule or seed is connected to the placenta in the ovary. The funiculus acts like an umbilical cord, supplying the developing ovule and seed …

Actinomorphic: Having multiple planes of symmetry such that any line drawn through the middle produces two mirror-image halves, usually applied to flowers.* Compare with zygomorphic. This striking red Dahlia ‘Mystic Enchantment’ …

Perfect: Flowers that have functioning female and male reproductive parts.* The flowers of this Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree) have both male (pollen producing) stamens as well as female (pollen receiving) …

Raceme: An inflorescence with pedicellate flowers borne on an unbranched elongated central axis.* The racemes of this wisteria are pendulous, hanging down through their supports. Each flower is attached to …

Umbel: A mass of inflorescence borne upon pedicels of nearly equal length springing from a common centre.* The garden is full of alliums (flowering onions) this week. Their spherical umbels are …