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 to prevent them from germinating. …
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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 be set off by an …
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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 the developing ovule and seed …
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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 to North America by humans. …
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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 until environmental or seasonal conditions …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Diaspore
Diaspore: the smallest unit of seed dispersal in plants. Diaspores can be seeds, fruitlets of compound or schizocarpic fruits, entire fruits or seedlings (e.g. in mangroves).* *Kesseler, R. & Stuppy, …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Vagile
Vagile: (From Latin vagus wandering, straying). Of an organism or group of organisms: having the ability to disperse or be dispersed in an environment.* The seeds of this plant, Anemone …
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Word of the Week: Dehiscent
Dehiscent: (De-his-cent) Bursting or splitting open at maturity. Usually used of a fruit that bursts open to release its seeds (e.g. pea pod).* The pods of dog-strangling vine are dehiscent fruits, …
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Add Pollinator Magnets to Your Garden
February is the perfect month to be planning for the coming gardening season. As you pour through seed and plant catalogues, think about adding few extra plants to attract and …
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Paul’s Plant Picks: Edible Antiques
As we shovel out from yet another dumping of the white stuff and the piles get higher and higher, I can’t help but wonder when, and if, spring will ever …
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