Glabrous

smooth.

Glandular

bearing glands or slender wart-like outgrowths from the surface.

Glaucous

bluish green.

Glumes

bracts or scales enclosing the spikelets in Grasses.

Growth-form

the result of the adaptation of plants to their external conditions which produces a certain habit.

Habit

the general external form of a plant in outline.

Habitat

the natural haunt of each plant.

Halophilous

addicted to a saline soil.

Halophytes

plants that are confined, more or less, to maritime conditions, and are used to saline soil.

Hastate

spear-shaped below.

Haulm

the stem in Grasses.

Helophilous

addicted to a marshy habitat.

Herbaceous

green, succulent, without wood.

Herbal

the old descriptive Botany, usually restricted to curious medicinal remedies.

Herbarium

a collection of dried plants, or the place in which they are kept, or an illustrated herbal.

Formerly called hortus siccus.

Hermaphrodite

when both stamens and carpels are present on the same plant.

Heterogamous

bearing two different kinds of flowers of different sexes.

Heterophyllous

bearing different types of leaves.

Heterostyled

with styles of different length in different flowers.

Heterotrophic plants

saprophytes and parasites.

High-moor

opposed to low-moor, a sphagnum-moor.

Hirsute

with stiffish hairs.

Hispid

another term for hirsute.

Humus

vegetable mould, made up of decaying animal and vegetable matter.

Hybrid

the result of crossing two different species, usually allied.

Hydrochorous

dispersed by water - of the seed.

Hydrophytes

another term for aquatic plants.

Hygrophilous

loving moisture, but not necessarily truly aquatic.

Hypogeal

underground.

Hypogynous

not adherent to the calyx, growing from below the base of the ovary.

Imbricate

overlapping like the tiles of a roof (imbrex, Latin, roof-tile). Incised, deeply cut, with irregular sharp teeth.

Incurved

curved inwards.

Indehiscent

of fruits not opening.

Inferior

when the ovary adheres to the calyx, as in epigynous flowers.

Inflexed

bent inwards.

Infundibuliform

funnel-shaped.

Insectivorous plants

those which attract, trap, and digest insects.

Internode

the interval between the nodes.

Introrse

when the anther dehisces towards the centre.

Involucel

the involucre of a secondary umbel.

Involucre

the whorl of bracts at the base of an umbel or head.

Involute

rolled from the back inwards.

Keel

the two lower petals in a Leguminous flower.

Knot

the node of a Grass stem.

Labellum

the lip or terminal segment in Orchids.

Laciniate

fringed with narrow segments.

Lacustral

addicted to a lake situation.

Lanceolate

lance-shaped, tapering towards the point.

Lax

loose.

Leaf-axil

angle between leaf and stem.

Lenticular

lens-shaped.

Legume

a pod, one-celled, two-valved, seeds arranged along the inner angle, dehiscing by both sutures.

Ligule

in Grasses a membrane at the base of the limb of the leaf; in Composites applied to the ray floret corollas.

Limb

the flat, enlarged part of a leaf or petal.

Linear

much narrower than long, with parallel borders.

Linear-lanceolate

between linear and lanceolate.

Lipped

having two lips in corolla or calyx.

Lithophytes

plants growing on rocks and stones.

Littoral

growing on the coast, maritime.

Loculicidal

opening down the back, or midrib.

Lomentum

a legume with one-seeded joints.

Lyrate

pinnatifid, the lobes enlarged upwards, with one very large terminal one.

Melliferous

honey-bearing.

Mesophytes

plants found on well-watered and ventilated soil rich in nutriment.

Midrib

the central vein in a leaf.

Monadelphous

when the stamens are united by the filaments into a column.

Moniliform

cylindrical, constricted at several points.

Monocarpic

producing seed once only.

Monoecious

with male and female flowers on the same plant, in separate flowers.

Monopetalous

when the petals are joined by their margins to form a tube.

Morphology

that part of botany which deals with the form, structure, and development of plants.

Mucronate

with a short blunt point.

Muricate

covered with spines.

Mycorhiza

when roots are clothed with the mycelium of a fungus.

Myrmecochorous

dispersed by aid of ants.

Myrmecophilous

plants which protect ants, which in turn ward off enemies.

Naturalized

introduced, but establishing itself by seed.

Nectary

a gland which secretes honey.

Neuter flowers

devoid of stamens or carpels of use to the plant.

Node

point where a leaf or branch is attached to the stem.

Nut

a hard indehiscent one-seeded fruit.

Nutation

a spontaneous movement in plants.

Obovate

ovate, but obtuse apically.

Ocrea

a membranous stipule around the stem, as in Polygonaceae.

Ovary

the organ in which the ovules and seeds are formed.

Ovate

egg-shaped, flat.

Ovoid

egg-shaped, not flat, but cylindrical.

Ovule

the young seed, the macro-sporangium enclosing the embryo-sac. Oxylophytes, bog-plants, growing on sour, acid soil.