Plant Science - Week 1 Definitions
Monocotyledons
A flowering plant with an embryo that bears a single cotyledon (seed leaf). Monocotyledons constitute the smaller of the two great divisions of flowering plants, and typically have elongated stalkless leaves with parallel veins (e.g. grasses, lilies, palms).
Angiosperms
A flowering, fruit-bearing plant or tree known for having ovules (and therefore seeds) develop within an enclosed ovary. The angiosperms are a large group and include herbaceous plants, shrubs, grasses, and most trees.
Dicotyledons
A group of flowering plants belonging to the class Magnoliopsida of Angiospermae (angiosperms), characterized by having two photosynthetic cotyledons in the seed that may emerge from the ground when the seed germinates.
Gymnosperms
A plant that has seeds unprotected by an ovary or fruit. Gymnosperms include the conifers, cycads, and ginkgo.
Physiology
Functions & internal processes of the plants such as photosynthesis, reproduction, etc.
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.
Colloquial Language
Informal language used by people in everyday speech.
Slang
Informal use of language by certain groups, the vocabulary is created by the users, thus changes with time.
Softwood
Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers.
Pistil
The female organs of a flower, comprising the stigma, style, and ovary. AKA carpel(s)
Stamen
The male fertilizing organ of a flower, typically consisting of a pollen-containing anther and a filament.
External and Internal Morphology
The physical structure of parts of the plant such as leaves, roots, etc.
Nomenclature
The process of naming the classified organisms (taxa) based on a series of rules laid out in the Rules of Botanical Nomenclature.
Botany
The study of nature's details - external and internal. It is the science of plant biology & the art of observation.
Taxonomy
The system in which organisms are grouped and classified based on similar physical and/or genetic relationships to each other.