| GLOSSARY | |||
| Botanical terminology saves a lot of wordy descriptions, and standardises them - to an extent. | |||
| Here are some terms you will come across at Rossbeigh | |||
| Achene | 1-seeded dry fruit, not splitting | ||
| Acidic | Soils and rocks containing little or no lime, with a low pH (measure of acidity/alkalinity) | ||
| Alternate | Not opposite, singly on one side of the stem, then the other | ||
| Annual | A plant that lives it's whole life cycle, seed to seed, in one season | ||
| Anther | The male pollen producing part of the flower, often held clear of the flower on a long filament | ||
| Axil | The upper angle between the stem and a leaf or bract | ||
| Basal | Leaves arising from the ground or from the base of a stem | ||
| Basic | Soils containing excess of basic ions e.g. calcium or magnesium | ||
| Biennial | A plant that concentrates on growth in it's first year, producing seed and dying in it's second year | ||
| Bract | Leaf-like or Scale-like, arising just below the flower stalk (the flower arises in it's Axil) | ||
| Bog | A wet acid peat habitat characterised by Sphagnum Moss | ||
| Bud | Arising from axil of leaves, or from nodes, the first sign of new growth from that point | ||
| Bulb | Underground storage organ, a short stem and a bud enclosed in layers of leaves or leaf bases | ||
| Calcaerous | Soil or rock containing lime - generally has a high pH | ||
| Calyx | The collective name for the Sepals around a Flower | ||
| Capsule | A structure designed to protect ripening seeds, then release them in the best possible conditions. | ||
| Carpel | Female parts of the flower, comprising Ovary, Style and Stigma | ||
| Chromosome | A unit of genetic information, passed from one generation to the next | ||
| Composite | A 'Flower' which actually consists of many tiny Flowers | ||
| Corolla | The Petal arrangement | ||
| Deciduous | The plant loses its Leaves in the autumn | ||
| Dune | Low hill of wind-blown sand near the sea | ||
| Filament | The tiny stalk with holds up the Anther, the male Pollen-producing part of the Flower | ||
| Floret | A small Flower, usually part of a Composite flower head | ||
| Flower | The sexually reproductive structure of the plant. | ||
| Fruit | Seeds and surrounding structures | ||
| Genus | The small group to which a species belongs, by reason of similarities in structure | ||
| Glaucous | Blue-green, with a 'bloom' or powdery appearance to the surface | ||
| Glume | One of the lowest pairs of Bracts in a grass Spikelet | ||
| Heath | Often upland, areas of dry, poor, thin soil | ||
| Herbaceous | Dying down to ground level every autumn | ||
| Hermaphrodite | Both male and female parts in the same Flower | ||
| Holdfast | The base of a seaweed which glues the plant to the rock or other surface | ||
| Hybrid | Where two related, but distinct, species cross-pollinate, and produce an new plant with some of the characteristics of each parent. | ||
| Inflorescence | Flowers, branches and Bracts, arranged in a characteristic way for that species | ||
| Labellum | Lip of the orchid Flower, usually the lower | ||
| Lanceolate | Lance-shaped | ||
| Leaf | The photosynthetic parts of the plant which use the sun's energy to change water and CO2 into sugars. Other parts of the plant also photosynthesise, but the leaves are usually specialised for this function. | ||
| Leaflet | Distinct parts of the Leaf which themselves resemble Leaves, but no associated Bud or Stipule | ||
| Lip | Part of the Corolla of irregular Flowers | ||
| Lobed | The divisions or main parts of a Leaf or Petal | ||
| Midrib | Central vein on a leaf or seaweed thallus | ||
| Native | Not known to be introduced | ||
| Nectar | A sugary liquid produced by Flowers to attract insects to pollinate them | ||
| Opposite | Leaves or Flowers which arise in pairs at the same level on the stem | ||
| Oval | Leaf shape - about twice as long as wide | ||
| Ovary | Central part of the Flower containing the Ovules which later develop into seeds | ||
| Ovules | The part of the Ovary in the flower which will develop into Seed after Pollination | ||
| Panicle | Branched Inflorescence | ||
| Parasite | An organism which lives off another organism, with no benefit to the host | ||
| Perennial | A plant that lives for more than 2 years | ||
| Perianth | Sepals and Petals, all the outer parts of the flower | ||
| Petal | Inner Whorl of the Perianth segments, often brightly coloured | ||
| pH | Measure of acidity/alkilinity A low pH is more acid, above pH 7 is more alkiline | ||
| Pinnate | More than 3 Leaflets in the Leaf, arranged in two rows on either side of the main vein | ||
| Pollen | Male reproductive cells, produced on the Anthers | ||
| Pollinate | The process required for Pollen to reach the Stigma, in order to fertilise the Ovules in the Ovary | ||
| Raceme | Spike-like Inflorescence, the Flowers distantly stalked | ||
| Ray floret | The outer Florets of a Composite Flower, usually with a strap-like 'Petal' | ||
| Rhizome | Underground (or creeping over the surface) stem, Perennial, often used for storage by the plant | ||
| Rosette | Circle of Leaves all arising from the same point, often flattened over the ground | ||
| Scale | A thin, but often tough, sheet of tissue | ||
| Sepal | The outer layer of the Flower, protecting the Petals in Bud | ||
| Sessile | Describes a Leaf that joins directly to the stem, with no short stalk between | ||
| Slack | Hollow between sand dunes where fresh or slightly salty water gathers in wet weather | ||
| Spike | Simple, long Inflorescence with individual Flowers unstalked | ||
| Spikelet | Part of a branched Flowerhead containing stalkless Flowers; basic unit of the grass flower-head | ||
| Spur | Hollow cylindrical projection from a Petal or Sepal, may contain Nectar | ||
| Stamen | Part of the male reproduction of the flower, the Stamen consists of the Filament and the Anther | ||
| Standard | The upper Petal of the legiminous Flower, usually larger than the others | ||
| Stigma | Part of the female reproduction of the Flower, the Stigma is the Pollen receptive surface | ||
| Stipe | The 'stem' of a seaweed | ||
| Stipule | A Scale-like or Leaf-like part attached to the base of some leaves | ||
| Style | Part of the female reproduction of the Flower, the Style connects the Stigma to the Ovary | ||
| Symbiosis | Where two unrelated plants co-operate to the benefit of both | ||
| Tendril | Slender climbing, often coiling, structure, at the tips of some Leaves, or specialised from Leaves | ||
| Thallus | Plant body, not differentiated into separate parts | ||
| Trifoliate | Leaf with 3 separate Leaflets | ||
| Tube | The joined lower parts of the Sepals or Petals of some Flowers | ||
| Umbel | A Flower head where all the individual Flower stalks arise from one point | ||
| Vegetative reproduction | Asexual reproduction by detachment of some part of the plant, which then forms a new plant with the same genetic blueprint as the parent plant. | ||
| Whorl | A group of 3 or more Leaves or Buds arising from the same level on the stem | ||