W O R D   W I S E

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Definitions for terms used in this issue...

1-2-3 Rule (Things to Expect) - a useful rule of thumb for watering plants: water small plants such as groundcovers and annuals to a depth of 1 foot; shrubs to a depth of 2 feet, and trees to a depth of 3 feet.

amaranth (Summer Corn) - various annuals of the genus Amaranthus, having clusters of tiny green or red flowers. Includes weeds, ornamentals, and food plants. Also called pigweed.

carnivore (Going to Bat) - a flesh-eating animal or plant.

deciduous (Underappreciated Trees) - falling off, as leaves from a tree; not evergreen; not persistent.

evergreen (Underappreciated Trees) - having green leaves through the winter; not deciduous.

guano (Going to Bat) - dung used as fertilizer

herbaceous (Prickly Pear) - having the characteristics of an herb (no above-ground woody stems); not woody

indigenous (Summer Corn) - having originated in and being produced, growing, living, or occurring naturally in a particular region or environment.

leaf axil (Summer Corn) - the angle formed between the axis of a stem and the leaf projecting from it.

mammals (Going to Bat) - warm-blooded higher vertebrates that nourish their young with milk secreted by mammary glands, and usually have skin covered at least partially with hair.

monocot (Summer Corn) - a plant with a single seed leaf or cotyledon (the primary or first growth that emerges from a seed); as opposed to a dicot, which has 2 seed leaves.

mucilage (Prickly Pear) - a gelatinous plant substance similar to plant gums; often used as an adhesive.

naturalized (Prickly Pear) - introduced from elsewhere, but becoming established in a particular geographical area.

parallel venation (Summer Corn) - with primary veins running parallel to the leaf axis or to each other; as opposed to netted venation where veins run in different directions and resemble netting.

pericarp (Summer Corn) - the wall or outer layer of the fruit; the ripened wall of a plant ovary.

resin (Underappreciated Trees) - a sticky organic substance (usually transparent or translucent and flammable) formed in plant secretions and insoluble in water.

scale (Prickly Pear) - an infestation by a prolific group of homopterous insects with winged males and wingless, scale-covered females that attach themselves to a host plant. The young suck the juices out of the plant.

side dressing (Summer Corn) - to place nutrients on or in the soil near the roots of a crop, not directly on it.

specimen plant (Prickly Pear) - a term used in nursery industry to mean a tree or shrub large enough to significantly impact a landscape; a large, conspicuous plant.

tannin (Underappreciated Trees) - Any of various soluble, astringent plant substances used in tanning, dyeing, inks, and medicines.

vertebrates (Going to Bat) - organisms having a spinal column.


Maricopa County Master Gardener Volunteer Information
Last Updated May 28, 2003
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