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.