Botanical Nerd Word: Achene
Achene: A small, dry, indehiscent fruit with a single locule and a single seed (ovule), and with the seed attached to the ovary wall at…
Category Archives: Word of the Week
Botanical Nerd Word: Stipe
Stipe: 1. In ferns, the stalk of the frond, equivalent to the petiole of seed plants; 2. In orchids, the stalk-like connection between the viscidium…
Botanical Nerd Word: Schizocarp
Schizocarp: A dry fruit which splits into separate one-seeded segments (carpels) at maturity.* The image shows the various stages of development of fennel from flowers…
Botanical Nerd Word: Pericarp
Pericarp: The fruit wall, derived from the ovary wall and consisting of up to three layers: exocarp, mesocarp, and endocarp.* Peaches are a type of…
Botanical Nerd Word: Endocarp
Endocarp: The inner layer of the pericarp of a fruit.* For example, the hard, stony shell at the centre of a peach which contains the…
Botanical Nerd Word: Mesocarp
Mesocarp: The middle layer of the pericarp of a fruit.* The mesocarp is often the delicious fleshy part of the fruit, such as the edible…
Botanical Nerd Word: Exocarp
Exocarp (syn. Epicarp): Outermost layer of the fruit wall (pericarp)* For example, the outer skin of a peach or plum. *Pell, S.K., Angell, B. (2016)….
Botanical Nerd Word: Cone
Cone: A dense cluster of sporophylls on an axis; a strobilus.* *Harris, J.G., Harris, M.W. (2001). Plant identification terminology: An illustrated glossary (2nd ed.)….
Botanical Nerd Word: Complanate
Complanate: Flattened* For example, the complanate fruit pods of eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis). *Harris, J.G., Harris, M.W. (2001). Plant identification terminology: An illustrated glossary (2nd…
Botanical Nerd Word: Strobile
Strobile: A cone or an inflorescence resembling a cone, as in hops.* Hop hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) gets its common name because it’s fruits look just…