Descriptionary

pampas the grassy plains in South America lying from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean. The equivalent of the North American prairie.

plain a large area of mostly treeless grassland.

prairie grassy plains of midwest North America.

rush any of various marsh plants or grasses having hollow stems.

savanna a tropical or subtropical grassland, some­times having scattered trees.

sedge a grasslike marsh plant.

steppes grasslands of Eurasia.

tundra treeless plains with marshy areas, in Siberia and arctic North America.

tussock a thick tuft of grass.

veld elevated, treeless grassland of South Africa.

flowers and plants

achene a small, hard, dry, one-seeded fruit that doesn't split open or yawn when ripe, typically found with buttercups and dandelions.

aerial rootlets small rootlike branches growing out of the stems of some climbing vines.

ananthous flowerless.

annual living and growing only one year or season.

anther at the top of a stamen, the tiny organ that secretes and discharges pollen.

armed bearing prickles, spines, or thorns.

aromatic spicy- or sweet-smelling.

axis the main stem or center around which plant parts or branches grow.

beard a group of bristles or hairs on a plant.

biennial a plant with the cycle of two years, pro­ducing leaves the first year, and fruit or flowers the second.

blade the flat, green expanse portion of a leaf, as opposed to the stalk.

bloom a white, powdery coating found on some fruits, such as plums, and the leaves and stems of various plants.

bract a small leaf beneath a flower or on the stalk of a flower cluster.

bud a leafy stem or flower unopened and undeveloped.

bulb an underground root or stem with fleshy scales and a food store for the undeveloped plant within.

calyx a collective term for the sepals of a flower; the leaflike green segments forming the outer circle in a flower.

catkin small flower cluster, drooping and resem­bling a kitten's tail; commonly found on willow and birch trees.

chaff husks of grain separated from the seed.

chlorophyll the green pigment found in plants.

claw the stalklike base of a petal.

corm a scaleless bulb or stem base.

corolla the collective term for the petals of a flower, separate or joined.

corymb a flat-topped flower cluster in which the outer flowers open first.

cyme a flat-topped flower cluster in which the mid­dle or central flowers open first.

disk flower the tubular flowers that project from the center of the heads of daisies, sunflowers, and asters.

downy a coating of short, fine, soft hairs.

drupe any fruit, such as a peach, plum, or cherry, that has a hard pit or stone.

FIELDS, MEADOWS, AND MARSHES 127 effloresce to blossom, bloom.

elliptic shaped like an ellipse, wide in the middle, tapered at both ends, as a leaf or petal.

evergreen a plant whose leaves remain green all year.

eye a mark or spot in the middle of the flower, prominent and of a different color from the rest of the flower.

filament the stalk of a stamen.

flora the native plants of a region.

floret any small flower, also known as a floweret.

gland any secreting organ of a plant.

head a dense cluster of stalkless flowers.

heliotropic of or any of the various plants that turn toward or follow the sun's path across the sky, relating to a condition also known as the phototropic response.

horticulture the art and science of cultivating plants, particularly ornamentals.

hortus siccus a collection of dried plants; a herbarium.

humus decomposed, dead vegetation.

hydroponics a soil-less growing method in which plant roots are bathed in dissolved nutrients.

lip an irregularly sized petal on an unequally divided corolla.

midrib the main or central vein of a leaf.

nosegay a small bouquet of flowers.

ornamental a plant growth for the purpose of deco­ration; a beautiful plant.

palmate a plant with lobes or leaves that spread out as the extended fingers of a hand.

perennial describing a plant with a life span or more than two years; a plant that lives on season after season.

photosynthesis the process through which plants convert sunlight to energy and synthesize organic compounds from inorganic ones.

phototropism the growth or movement of a plant in response to sunlight.

pistil the female organ of a flower, which develops into a fruit.

pollen tiny grains containing the male germ cells, released by the anthers of flowering plants.

pollen count the average number of ragweed pol­len grains in a specific volume of air over a 24-hour period, used as a scale to estimate the severity of hayfever attacks.

pollen tube the thin tube emitted by a grain of pol­len that infiltrates an ovule and fertilizes it.