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Glossary of botanical terms


Hi all,

I am planning to write a glossary of botanical terms that Eric has kindly 
agreed to put on the Krib. However, before that happens I thought it would 
be best to get comments from the readers of APD, specifically to make sure 
that the meanings are correct, that they are "reasonably" easy to understand 
and as a check on my spelling. Major spelling mistakes, I hope, are likely 
to be due to differences in American and English spelling. I don't mind 
which is used. It would also prove useful if any of you could suggest 
specific plants which are indicitive of these descriptions.

The final glossary is likely to run to quite a large number of words so I 
will post it in sections. I thought I would start off with terms describing 
leaf shape, that many may already be familiar with.

LEAF SHAPE
Acicular: needle shaped
Cordate:  heart shaped, with the notch at the base
Deltoid:  broadly triangular
Elliptic: in the shape of an ellipse, rounded at both ends,
          widest at the middle
Lanceolate:    lance shaped; several times longer than wide with
          greatest width about one third from base, tapering
          gradually to apex and more rapidly to base
Linear:        very narrow with parallel margins
Obcordate:     heart shaped, with the notch at apex
Oblanceolate:  lance shaped; several times longer than wide with
          greatest width towards apex, tapering gradually to
          base and more rapidly to apex
Oblong:        longer than broad, with parallel margins and rounded
          ends
Obovate:  egg shaped, attached by the narrow end
Orbicular:     rounded in outline, with length equal to width
Oval:          broadly elliptic, narrowing somewhat from the middle
          to rounded ends
Ovate:         egg shaped, attached by the broad end
Reniform: kidney shaped
Rhomboid: approximately diamond shaped
Runcinate:     pinnately and rather sharply lobed with the lobes
          directed backwards
Spat(h)ulate:  spoon shaped, broad and rounded at distal end, long
          and narrowing towards the base

LEAF TIPS
Acuminate:     tapering to a fine point, the sides more or less
          concave
Acute:         sharply pointed
Apiculate:     a short slender more or less flexible point
Emarginate:    with a shallow notch
Mucronate:     a short sharp tip or excurrent midrib
Obtuse:        blunt
Retuse:        with the apex rounded with a small notch

LEAF BASES
Attenuate:     gradually tapering
Cuneate:  wedge shaped, gradually and evenly narrowing to base
Hastate:  shaped like an arrowhead, with the basal lobes pointed
          or narrow and spreading at a wide angle
Oblique:  with the sides unequal
Peltate:  shield shaped, petiole attached well inside the margin
Sagittate:     in the form of an arrow head with the basal lobes
          directed backwards
Truncate: appearing as though cut squarely across
Auriculate:    an ear shaped lobe

LEAF MARGINS AND LOBING
Crenate:  with shallow rounded teeth, the sinus acute  
Dentate:  with sharp teeth perpendicular to the margin
Denticullate:  diminutive of dentate i.e. small teeth
Palmate:  radiately lobed or divided
Pinnate:  arranged on either side of mid rib, as in a feather
Serrate:  sharply toothed, with the teeth pointing forward
Serrulate:     diminutive of serrate i.e. small teeth
Sinuate:  with shallow broad waves to the margin but not undulate
Undulate: waved in a plane at right angles to the surface

Derek