- Achenia
- Simple dry fruits each containing a single seed
- Anther
- The expanded, top, pollen-bearing portion of the stamen
- Areole
- A small, well-defined area on a surface, as the area of a cactus bearing the flowers and/spines.
- Axile
- Positioned on the side of the stem/axis or central supporting structure.
- Axis
- The central supporting structure or line around which various structures are borne, as a stem bearing leaves
- Basal rosette
- A circular arrangement of leaves, all of a similar height, around the base of a plant
- Bract
- A reduced leaf or leaf-like structure at the base of a flower or inflorescence
- Calyx
- The collective name for all the sepals of a flower
- Carpel
- The pistil or structure of a flower containing the ovule or ovules
- Chaparral
- A vegetation type consisting of dense thickets of evergreen shrubs
- Cholla cactus
- A cactus with a stem being a series of branching cylindrical-shaped joints
- Columnar cactus
- A cactus with a stem shaped like a column
- Corm
- A short, solid, vertical bulblike underground stem
- Corolla
- The collective name for all the petals of a flower
- Dehiscence
- The spontaneous opening at maturity of fruits and anthers to release their contents
- Dioecious
- A plant species in which the staminate (male structures only) and pistillate (female structures only) flowers are borne on different plants
- Drought tolerance
- Plant’s ability to withstand desiccation or drying out due to lack of moisture
- Filament
- The stalk of the stamen supporting the anther
- Flora
- A botanical text describing all of the plants of a given area
- Floret
- A small flower; an individual flower within a dense cluster, as a grass flower in a spike or single flower from the head of a sunflower
- Glochid
- A fine barbed hair or bristle
- Growth habit
- See habit
- Habit
- The general appearance, characteristic form, or mode of growth of a plant
- Inflorescence
- The flowering part of a plant; a flower cluster; the arrangement of the flowers on the flowering axis or central supporting structure
- Monoecious
- A plant species in which the imperfect (flowers with only male structures or only female structures) flowers are borne on the same plant
- Morphology
- Form and structure of a plant
- Ovary
- The expanded bottom portion of the pistil that contains the ovules
- Ovule
- An immature seed
- Panicle
- An inflorescence with branched clusters of flowers where each branch is a raceme
- Pedicel
- The stalk of a single flower of an inflorescence or of a grass spikelet
- Peduncle
- The stalk of a solitary flower or of an inflorescence
- Petiole
- A leaf stalk
- Perianth
- A collective name for the calyx (all the sepals) and corolla (all the petals). The term perianth is usually used when the sepals and petals are similar in appearance
- Petal
- One member of the corolla, usually colored or white and usually the showiest part of the flower
- Pinnate
- A compound leaf with leaflets arranged on opposite sides of an elongated axis
- Pistil/gynoecium
- The female reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of stigma, style, and ovary
- Prickly pear cactus
- A cactus with a stem formed by a series of branching flattened oval joints
- Pollen
- The mature or developing male sex cells of a seed plant
- Pollination
- Transfer of pollen from anther to the stigma
- Pubescent
- Covered in short, soft hairs
- Raceme
- An elongated inflorescence bearing flowers with short floral stalks along its axis with flowers maturing from the bottom upwards.
- Radial
- The structures radiating from a central point, as spokes on a wheel or the side spines of a spine cluster on a cactus
- Receptacle
- The top portion pof the stalk upon which the flower parts are borne
- Rosette
- A modified stem in which a circular arrangement of leaves, all of a similar height, sits near the soil
- Sepal
- One member of the calyx
- Stamen/androecium
- The male reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of filament and anther
- Stigma
- The top portion (usually enlarged) of the pistil on which the pollen is deposited
- Style
- The usually narrowed portion of the pistil connecting the stigma to the ovary
- Succulent
- Fleshy, thick, and juicy, as the stem of a cactus
- Tubercle
- A knoblike projection
BOTANICAL TERMINOLOGY
