Botanical Nerd Word: Elaiosome
Elaiosome (e-lay-o-zome): (Greek: elaion=oil + soma=body) literally meaning ‘oil body.’* A structure on the surface of a seed that secretes and stores oil, usually as an attractant to ants, which …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Hilum
Hilum: The scar on a seed that marks the point at which it was attached to the plant.* Bean seeds have very obvious hilums. From left to right in the picture: …
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Our shop is temporarily closed for in-person shopping but our online is store is open 24-7. The final day for curbside pick up will be Thursday, December 24, 2020 from …
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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 a single point, as in …
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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 through to seeds. What is …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Pyxis
Pyxis: A circumscissile capsule, the top coming off as a lid.* Above is an image of a ripe Portulaca pyxis. Circumscissile means that the capsule splits horizontally in a line …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Pappus
Pappus: A modified calyx made up of a ring of fine hairs, scales, or teeth that persist after fertilization and aid the wind dispersal of the fruit, often by forming …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Imbibition
Imbibition: The adsorption of liquid, usually water, into the ultramicroscopic spaces or pores found in materials such as cellulose, pectin, and cytoplasmic proteins in seeds.* When you put dry seeds …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Biconvex
Biconvex: Shaped like a lentil, i.e., round and convex on both sides.* *Pell, S.K., Angell, B. (2016). A botanist’s vocabulary: 1300 terms explained and illustrated. Portland: Timber Press.
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Botanical Nerd Word: Anemochory
Anemochory: Dispersal of fruits and seeds by wind.* Milkweed pods (Asclepias tuberosa) are opening up and releasing their fluffy seeds in the garden and ravine. *Kesseler, R. & Stuppy, W. …
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