W O R D   W I S E

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Definitions for terms used in this issue...



abscission (see Spotting Nutrient Deficiencies) - the natural separation of flowers, fruit or leaves from plants at a special separation layer.

bracts (see Going Bananas) - leaf-like or scale-like plant parts, usually small, sometimes showy or brightly colored, and located just below a flower, a flower stalk, or an inflorescence.

contact herbicides (see Coping with Weeds) - herbicides that kill only those plant parts that they come in contact with, as opposed to translocated herbicides.

corm (see Going Bananas) - a swollen underground stem, usually found in monocot plants, that stores food reserves so that the plant can survive winter or other adversity. Corms may be surrounded by protective skins, and are often dug up and used to propagate the plant.

cultivars (see Desert Willow) - CULTIvated VARiety. Cultivars are often hybrids between species, and may represent desirable traits from populations of a single species. They may be registered or trademarked.

dehiscent (see Desert Willow) - opening in some definite way, as the capsule of a plant. Breaking open at maturity to discharge seeds or spores. Opening regularly to let seeds or spores escape by valves, slits, etc., as a capsule or anther.

dodder (see Coping with Weeds) - An annual parasitic wiry twining vine of the genus Cuscuta. Dodder is characterized by the lack of chlorophyll and that fact that it has small scales instead of leaves. Thin stems twine around the host plant, and penetrating suckers withdraw nourishment.

herb (see Going Bananas) - in general, a plant that does not produce wood and therefore is smaller than a shrub or tree; a plant grown for flavoring or medicinal purposes.

inflorescence (see Going Bananas) - a flower head; the flowering part of the plant, particularly the arrangement of flowers on the stem.

interveinal chlorosis (see Spotting Nutrient Deficiencies) - abnormal yellowing or blanching of the leaves (due to lack of chlorophyll) between structural vessels of leaves.

lenticels (see Desert Willow) - pores on the surface of plant twigs or stems through which gases pass from inside the stem to the atmosphere or from the atmosphere into the stem.

phreatophyte (see Desert Willow) - a deep-rooted plant that obtains its water from the water table or the layer of soil just above it

pre-emergents (see Coping with Weeds) - herbicides or fertilizers applied before aboveground seedlings emerge.

pseudostem (see Going Bananas) - an erect growth that appears to be a stem with leaves, but is actually overlapping stalks of essentially basal leaves.

rhizomes (see Coping with Weeds) - thickened stems that grow horizontally below or on the soil surface, usually rooting at the nodes and becoming erect at the apex.

senesce (see Spotting Nutrient Deficiencies) - to reach later maturity; grow old.

stolons (see Coping with Weeds) - ground-lying or trailing stem that produces roots at the nodes.

terminal inflorescence (see Going Bananas) - a flower head formed at the tip of a stem or twig.

venation (see Spotting Nutrient Deficiencies) - the arrangement of veins in a leaf.

Maricopa County Master Gardener Volunteer Information
Last Updated January 23, 2004
Author: Lucy K. Bradley, Extension Agent Urban Horticulture, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Maricopa County
© 1997 The University of Arizona, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cooperative Extension in Maricopa County
Comments to Maricopa-hort@ag.arizona.edu 4341 E. Broadway Road, Phoenix, AZ 85040,
Voice: (602) 470-8086 ext. 301, Fax (602) 470-8092