Botanical Nerd Word: Sarmentose
Sarmentose: Having long, thin runners (stolons).* Strawberries produce long runners, with new plantlets rooting along the ground. The image on the right shows the long runners producing plantlets. See also …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Ligule
Ligule: The membranous appendage arising from the inner surface of the leaf at the junction with the leaf sheath in many grasses and some sedges.* In grasses, the ligule is …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Rhizome
Rhizome: An underground, usually horizontal stem, such as that of ginger.* Irises grow from horizontal rhizomes that look much like pieces of ginger. Though they look a lot like ginger, …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Cyathium
Cyathium: The inflorescence in the genus Euphorbia, consisting of a cup-like involucre containing a single pistil and male flowers with a single stamen.* *Harris, J.G., Harris, M.W. (2001). Plant identification …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Coriaceous
Coriaceous: Having a leathery texture.* For example, the leaves of rhododendrons. *Allaby, M. (2006). A dictionary of plant sciences (Revised ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Botanical Nerd Word: Sessile
Sessile: Lacking a stalk; e.g., a leaf without a petiole.* Trillium luteum has a sessile flower. It sits directly on top of the leaves (bracts) without a peduncle. *Pell, S.K., …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Bifid
Bifid: Deeply two-cleft or two-lobed, usually from the tip.* The petals of this snow-in-summer (Cerastium) are bifid. Each one has a deep cleft at the tip. *Harris, J.G., Harris, M.W. …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Volute
Volute: Rolled up.* For example, the new spring shoots of hostas. *Harris, J.G., Harris, M.W. (2001). Plant identification terminology: An illustrated glossary (2nd ed.). Spring Lake: Spring Lake Publishing.
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Botanical Nerd Word: Pistil
Pistil: The female reproductive organ of a flower, typically consisting of a stigma, style, and ovary.* The pistil of this tulip is protruding from the centre of the flower, surrounded …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Stamen
Stamen: The male reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of an anther and a filament.* This Rhododendron dauricum ‘Arctic Pearl’ flower has 10 stamens surrounded by the petals which is …
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