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| Achene - A single-seed dry fruit that does not split. A strawberry consists of many achenes embedded in a fleshy receptacle. |
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| Alternate - Located directly across from (leaves) or can apply to stamens when between the petals. |
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| Annual - Completing life cycle (seed germinations, flowering, and death) in one year or growing season. |
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| Anther - The upper part of the stamen, attached to the filament, that produces the pollen of the flower. |
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| Appressed - Pressed against. Especially hairs that are parallel or nearly parallel to an often in contact with the surface or axis of origin. |
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| Awn - A slender bristle-like appendage usually at the end of a structure. |
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| Axil - The upper angle between the leaf of a flower or plant and its stem, where a bud usually develops. |
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| Banner - Uppermost, often largest petal of many plants in the pea (Fabaceae) family. |
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| Basal - Growth at the base of the plant. |
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| Basal - Of or at the base. |
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| Biennial - Completing the life cycle in two growing seasons. |
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| Bract - A leaf, usually smaller than the true leaves of a plant, from the axil of which a flower stalk arises. |
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| Bract - A small leaf or scale-like structure associated with and subtending an inflorescence or cone. |
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| Bulb - A tight cluster of food-storing leaves at the base of a stem underground. It usually reproduces another bulb for the next year through vegetative reproduction. |
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| Calyx - The outer whorl of floral leaves that form the protective covering of the flower bud. |
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| Calyx - Outer whorl of flowering parts; collective term for all the sepals of a flower. |
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| Capsule - A dry fruit of more than one carpel which opens to release the seeds. |
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| Cespitose - Growing in tufts. |
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| Clasping - Leaf partly or wholly surrounding the stem. |
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| Conifer - Trees that reproduce by means of cones; generally evergreen, with slender prickly leaves (needles) or leaves with rounded points. |
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| Corm - An underground swollen portion of a stem. |
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| Corolla - Inner whorl of floral parts; collective name for petals. |
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| Creeping - To grow along the ground or some structure. |
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| Cross-pollination - Pollen from one plant landing on the stigma of another plant. |
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| Culm - The jointed stem of a grass that supports the leaves and elevates the flowering structure. |
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| Cyme - An inflorescence where the main axis and lateral branches are repeated and terminated by a flower. |
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| Cyme - Branched inflorescence in which the central or uppermost flower opens before the peripheral or lowermost flower on any axis. |
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| Deciduous - Trees that shed their leaves annually at the end of the growth period or at maturity. |
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| Digitate - The small leaf where the flower stalk joins the stem. |
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| Diminutive - Very small or tiny. |
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| Dioecious - Flowers unisexual, the male and female flowers on different plants. |
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| Disbud - The removal of excess flower buds to achieve a single higher quality flower. |
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| Disk flower - These are flowers on the central part of a Composite family flower, such as in the center of a daisy. |
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| Entire - Margins smooth without teeth or lobes. |
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| Epicalyx - A second calyx outside the true calyx. |
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| Ethylene Gas - Decomposing leaves and flowers, along with fruits and vegetables can emit ethylene gas. Cut flowers exposed to ethylene gas will have a shortened vase life. Plants such as Bromeliads are exposed to ethylene gas to promote flowering. |
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| Falls - The three outer and often drooping segments of the flower of an iris. |
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| Family - A group of related plants. |
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| Female parts - In this text, this refers to the whole female reproductive organ in the flower, i.e., egg, ovary, style, stigma. |
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| Fibrous roots - A dense array of roots originating at the base of a stem. |
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| Filament - The thin strand that holds the anther aloft. |
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| Filler flowers - Filler flowers are used to fill in and soften arrangements. These flowers are generally placed in the lower regions of the arrangement. "Baby's Breath" and "Statice" are examples of filler flowers. |
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| Fixative - Fixatives are fine aerosol sprays use to "glue" or hold fragile, fine stemmed or delicate dried flowers together. It helps to reduce breakage. |
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| Fleshy - Thick and juicy; succulent. |
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| Floret - The individual flowers that make a complete flower, or flowerhead. |
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| Floret - Small flower, especially one in a dense cluster; a grass flower. |
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| Flower - Seed producing structure of a plant. |
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| Flowerhead - A flower that is made up of a tight group of separate flowers, or florets (as in daisies). |
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| Flowerstalk - This refers to a stem with flowers. |
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| Follicle - A dry fruit that splits along one side, such as a milkweed fruit. |
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| Form flowers - Form flowers have very distinct shapes. They are used as the focal point of an arrangement. Many form flowers can be arranged with other flowers or arranged alone. |
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| Fruit - Ripened ovary and its structures that enclose it at maturity. |
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| Gall - A deformation of plant tissue caused by the actions or secretions of insects or fungi. |
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| Genus - A group of related species. |
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| Glabrous - Smooth, no hairs present. |
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| Glandular - Bearing glands. |
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| Glume - In grasses, each of generally two sheathing bracts that are the lowermost parts of a spikelet. |
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| Habit - Characteristic growth form or shape of a plant. |
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| Habitat - Natural setting where a plant grows. Usually refers to a specific plant community. |
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| Herb - Plant with little or no wood above ground; above-gound parts are of less than one year or growing season duration. |
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| Hybrids - Hybrids are plants created by man, by crossing two naturally occurring species to develop a more vigorous plant. The end result is a hybrid plant with enhanced leaf or flower shapes, coloration or growth habit. |
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| Hydration - Hydration means plants or flowers taking up, or drinking water. |
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| Inflated - Blown up; bladdery. |
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| Inflorescence - A flower cluster on a plant. |
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| Inflorescence - The flower cluster of a plant. |
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| Keel - Ridge or crease more or less centrally located on the long axis of a structure. |
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| Lanceolate - Lance shaped; several times longer than wide with the broadest toward the base and pointed at the apex. |
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| Lateral - Referring to side(s) of a structure. |
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| Leaf - The part of the plant whose most common function is to gather sunlight energy and convert it to food energy for the plant. |
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| Leaflet - Segment of compound leaf. |
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| Leafy - Having numerous leaves. |
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| Lemma - In grasses, the lower, generally larger of two sheathing bracts that occur directly below a flower. |
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| Ligule - In grasses, an appendage at the juncture of leaf sheath and blade, generally with a membranous or fringed margin. |
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| Line flowers - Line flowers are generally stems that have a tall, narrow columnar spike of flowers. They can be used to give a flower arrangement a feel of height, or to create a vertical appearance. |
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| Linear - Resembling a line; long and narrow of uniform width. |
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| Lobe - A major expansion or bulge-like shape, as at the margin of a leaf or petal. |
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| Male parts - In this text; this refers to the total male reproductive organs in the flower, i.e. filament, anther, and pollen. |
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| Margin - The edge, generally of a leaf. |
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| Mass flowers - Mass flowers have a single stem with one flower head. They are used as the focal point of an arrangement. "Roses" or "Carnations" are examples of mass flowers. |
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| Monoculture - Only one species present. |
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| Nectar - The sweet liquid produced by the plant, most often in the flower, that attracts insects or other pollinators. |
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| Node - Position on a stem from which one or more structures (especially leaves) arises. |
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| Oblanceolate - Leaf blades that are wider above the middle and toward the tip than at the stem. |
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| Oblong - Two to four times longer than wide with the sides nearly parallel as in a leaf. |
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| Ovary - The part of the female reproductive organs that contains the egg and envelops the seed. |
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| Ovate - With the outline of an egg in longitudinal section, widest below the middle. |
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| Ovule - Structure containing an egg; a seed prior to fertilization. |
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| Panicle - A loose, irregular flower cluster. |
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| Panicle - Branched inflorescence in which the basal or lateral flowers (or some of them) open before the terminal or central flowers on any axis. |
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| Pappas - Small hairs attached to the top of tiny fruits that help disperse the fruits on the wind. |
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| Pedicel - A short slender stalk holding a flower or fruit. |
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| Pedicel - Stalk of an individual flower or fruit. |
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| Pedicellate - Having a pedicel. |
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| Peduncle - The stalk of a flower or of a flower cluster. |
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| Perennial - Living more than two years or growing seasons. |
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| Perennial - A plant that lives fro many years and blooms and matures seeds in more than one of those years. |
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| Perianth - The floral envelopes; collectively, the calyx and corolla, especially when they are alike. |
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| Persistent - Remaining attached after like parts normally fall off. |
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| Petal - One of the leaves of a corolla, often conspicuously colored. |
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| Phyllaries - Phyllary; the name of the bract on the head of a sunflower. |
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| Pinnate - Compound leaf with the leaflets on two opposite sides of an elongated axis. |
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| Pistal - The total female reproductive organ in the flower, made up of the egg, ovary, style, and stigma. |
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| Pistil - The ovule-bearing organ of a flower, consisting of stigma and ovary, usually with a style in between. |
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| Pod - A dry, dehiscent fruit. |
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| Pollen - The part of the male reproductive organ that contains sperm and is carried to other flowers. |
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| Pollination - The act of carrying pollen from the male parts to the stigma of the female parts. |
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| Pubescence - Covered with short, soft hairs. |
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| Raceme - An unbranched inflorescence having stalked flowers with the youngest growing at the tip. |
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| Ray Flowers - Generally the showy strap shaped flower in the head of a sunflower; as opposed to the less showy disk or tube flower. |
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| Recurved - Gradually curved downward or backward. |
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| Rhizome - An underground stem that often grows horizontally and may produce new stems. |
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| Roots - The portions of plants, usually underground, that absorb water and nutrients, help anchor the stem, and sometimes store food. |
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| Rosette - Compressed whorl of leaves that radiate from a central point above the roots. |
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| Scabrous - Rough to the touch, generally due to short stiff hairs. |
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| Scarious - Thin, dry, pliable, dark-colored or translucent but not green. Often like a dry onion peel. |
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| Seed - The developed female egg, which is contained inside the ovary. |
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| Self-pollination - This occurs when the pollen from one flower lands on the stigma of a flower on the same plant. |
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| Self-sterile - This is when the egg cells of a plant cannot be fertilized with pollen from the same individual plants. |
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| Sepal - A leaf or segment of the calyx. |
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| Serrate - Having margins with sharp teeth. |
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| Sessile - Without a stalk of any kind; said of a leaf or flower coming right off of a stem. |
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| Sexual reproduction - This occurs only in flowers where the genetic material of the plant is divided between the male and female sex cells that then recombine to form a seed. |
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| Silique - A many-seeded capsule of the Mustard (Brassicaceae ) family, with two valves splitting from the bottom and leaving the placentae with the false partition between them. |
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| Spadix - A fleshy growth that extends from flowers resembling a tail. |
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| Spadix - A fleshy spike that bears flowers, as in skunk cabbage or jack-in-the-pulpit. |
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| Spathe - A leafy covering adjoined to the base of the spadix. |
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| Species - A single type of plant or animal, not a group like genus or family. Each species has a two-word scientific name that includes the name of the genus it belongs to and then the name of the species. Another way to think of this is the Genus is the "Generic" name and the Species is the "Specific" name. |
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| Spiciform - Shaped like a spike. |
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| Spike - A simple elongated inflorescence with the individual flowers unstalked. |
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| Spikelet - In grasses, the smallest aggregation of florets plus any occurring below the glumes. |
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| Stamen - The male orgen of a flower, consisting of a stalk or filament, with the pollen-producing anther at the end. |
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| Stem - The part of the plant above the root that supports the leaves and/or flower. |
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| Stigma - The receptive part of the pistil on which the pollen germinates. |
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| Stipule - Appendage at base of leaf stalk, often leaf- or scale-like. |
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| Stolon - This is an aboveground stem that, when it touches the ground, may grow roots and possibly a new stem at that point. |
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| Stout - Thick, sturdy, not slender. |
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| Style - The contracted portion of the pistil between the ovary and the stigma. |
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| Taproot - This is a large central root of a plant that usually grows straight down into the ground. |
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| Taxon (plural taxa) - A group of plants, under the scientific classification system (e.g. a genus or species). |
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| Terminal - At the tip of a structure. |
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| Toothed - A small marginal lobe; as on a saw, dentate. |
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| Tuber - A thickened, short, usually subterranean stem having numerous buds called eyes; like a potato. |
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| Tufted - Cluster-like growth habit. |
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| Umbel - A flower cluster where the pedicels rise from the top of the main stem to form a flat or rounded cluster. |
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| Vegetative reproduction - This occurs when a plant produces another plant, either through a rhizome, or root, or structure such as a bulb, tuber, or corm. This differs from sexual reproduction, which occurs through flowers and seeds. |
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| Whorl - Group of three or more structures of the same kind (generally leaves or flower parts) at the same node. |
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| Whorled - Three or more leaves growing at the same point around a stem. |
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| Winter Annual - An annual plant that germinates in the fall, completing its life cycle the following year. |
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