Word of the Week

Bract: A leaflike organ subtending an inflorescence. Bracts are sometimes brightly coloured and petal-like, as in poinsettia (Eurphorbia pulcherrima)* Poinsettias are grown for their bright red bracts which surround their small …

Acerose: Needle-shaped, as the leaves of pine or spruce.*   *Harris, J.G., Harris, M.W. (2001). Plant identification terminology: An illustrated glossary (2nd ed.). Spring Lake: Spring Lake Publishing.

Glabrous: Smooth; lacking hairs.* The leaves of this holly (Ilex) are glossy because they are smooth and hairless. *Allaby, M. (2006). A dictionary of plant sciences (Revised ed.). Oxford: Oxford …

Vernalization: In some species, flowers are formed in spring as a result of the plant […] being given a cold treatment, close to or at freezing temperatures, for several weeks. The …

Trichome: A hair or hair-like outgrowth of the epidermis.* The leaves of Tillandsias (air plants) are covered in trichomes. The tiny hairs absorb water directly into the leaves. *Harris, J.G., Harris, …

Silique: A dry, dehiscent fruit of the Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) typically more than twice as long as wide, with two valves separating from the persistent placentae and septum.* The long seed pods …

Involucre: A whorl of bracts below an inflorescence.* The green cup at the base of thistle flowers is a classic involucre. *Allaby, M. (2006). A dictionary of plant sciences (Revised …

Floret: One of the individual small flowers of a clustered inflorescence, e.g. sunflower.* Coneflowers, Echinacea purpurea, are in the Asteraceae (sunflower/daisy family). Like all members of that family, their ‘flowers’ are …