Glossary

Alternate leaves

arranged singly at different levels on the stem.

Aril

an expansion of the seed stalk, growing partly or completely over the seed, usually fleshy and often brightly coloured.

Buttress

extension of the base of the trunk of a tree, often flange-like.

Canopy

the upper cover of foliage of a plant community.

Capsule

a dry, usually many-seeded fruit of two or more chambers, breaking open at maturity.

Coppice

extra leafy shoots produced from the base of a tree.

Epiphyte

a plant growing upon another plant, but never parasitic.

Family

a group of related genera.

Genus (plural, genera)

a group of closely related species.

Gland

a small structure on the surface, or within the tissue of a leaf or other organ, which secretes such substances as nectar or oil.

Lichen

a combination of an alga and a fungus, in such close association as to form what appears to be a single individual.

Opposite leaves

arising at the same level but on opposite sides of the stem.

Sepal

one of the usually green outer segments surrounding a flower, usually collectively known as the calyx.

Shrub

a woody plant less than eight metres high, usually branching lowdown or with many stems.

Species

a distinct, recognizable kind of plant or animal.

Stamen

the male organ of a flower, consisting of a stalk and a pollenbearing anther.

Stipules

one, or one pair of appendages, sometimes leafy and often very small, at the base of the leaf stalk.

Tendril

part of a plant modified into a slender, elongate climbing organ.

Whorl

a group of three or more leaves or other structures, arising at the same point.