Word of the Week

Flabellate/Flabelliform: Shaped like a fan.* Ginkgo trees are easily identified by their flabellate leaves. *Allaby, M. (2006). A dictionary of plant sciences (Revised ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Recurved: Curved backward toward the point of attachment.* The petals of this lily are recurved. *Pell, S.K., Angell, B. (2016). A botanist’s vocabulary: 1300 terms explained and illustrated. Portland: Timber …

Maculate: Marked with splotches or dots.* Many plants are grown for their decorative spotted foliage, such as Pulmonaria and Aucuba. *Pell, S.K., Angell, B. (2016). A botanist’s vocabulary: 1300 terms explained …

Lyrate: [of leaves] Pinnatifid with the terminal lobe rounded and much larger than the subtending lobes.* The word lyrate is used to describe leaves that are shaped like a lyre. …

Sinus: The portion of a leaf margin that dips in between two lobes or crenations.* The alternating sinuses and lobes around the margins of maple leaves give them their distinctive shape. …

Scorpioid: Shaped like a scorpion’s tail, as in some coiled cymes.* Symphytum (comfrey) produces flowers in a scorpioid cyme. *Harris, J.G., Harris, M.W. (2001). Plant identification terminology: An illustrated glossary (2nd …

Papilionaceous: Butterfly-like, as the irregular corolla of a pea, with a banner petal, two wing petals, and two fused keel petals.* Baptisia is a member of the pea family (Fabaceae). …

Deracinate: To pluck or tear up by the roots; to uproot, eradicate, exterminate.* Don’t just pull those weeds, deracinate them! *OED Online, Oxford University Press.

Flexuose: Bending back and forth at angles in opposite directions, zigzagging.* The stems of Japanese knotweed, a highly invasive plant, have a characteristic zigzag shape. *Pell, S.K., Angell, B. (2016). A …

Flush: Emergence of leaves or flowers on woody plants.* As the flowers begin to fade on the redbuds (Cercis canadensis), the trees put out their flush of leaves. *Pell, S.K., Angell, …