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.*…
Tag Archives: seeds
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….
Garden Shop
LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT HOSTESS GIFT? Eco-friendly and “local”, the Toronto Botanical Garden Gift bag features the highly-sought after TBG Honey from our own hives…
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….
Botanical Nerd Word: Ossiculus
Ossiculus: The stone or pit of a drupe; a pyrene.* Peaches, apricots, cherries, and plums are all examples of drupes. *Harris, J.G., Harris, M.W. (2001). Plant identification…
Botanical Nerd Word: Quiescent
Quiescent: In a state or condition of quietness; motionless; inactive; dormant.* Seeds in storage are said to be quiescent. They are purposely kept dry and cool…
Botanical Nerd Word: Ballistic dispersal
Ballistic dispersal: (syn. ballochory) Mode of dispersal by which the diaspores are actively or passively catapulted away from the plant. This can either happen arbitrarily or…
Botanical Nerd Word: Funiculus
Funiculus: The stalk by which an ovule or seed is connected to the placenta in the ovary. The funiculus acts like an umbilical cord, supplying…
Botanical Nerd Word: Anthropochory
Anthropochory: (from Greek: anthropos = human being + chorein = to disperse, to wander): dispersal of fruits and seeds by man.* Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) was introduced…
Botanical Nerd Word: Cryptobiosis
Cryptobiosis: A condition in which an organism (or an egg, seed, etc.) is in a dormant and resistant state without visible signs of life, remaining so…