aril
|
an extra, pulp-like
covering of certain seeds, like apples or
peaches.
|
biomass
|
any organic matter which is
available on a renewable basis through natural
processes, like forests, grasslands, crop lands, or
oceans.
|
chlorophyll
|
the green matter in plants
necessary to produce carbohydrates through
photosynthesis
|
compound
leaf
|
a leaf composed of several
leaflets on a common stalk. These leaflets can in
themselves be compound.
|
cauliflorous
cauliflory
|
where flowers and fruits
grow directly from the trunk or branches of a tree
instead of at the tips of branches. This is a
unique feature of tropical plants.
|
drought
deciduous
|
a plant's ability to drop
its leaves during dry or hot periods to avoid water
loss through transpiration.
|
emergent
|
rising above the
surrounding trees
|
epiphyte
|
a plant that grows on
another in a non-parasitic relationship and gets
its nutrients from water, dust particles, and the
air.
|
forb
|
flowering annual which is
not a grass or grass-like.
|
nurse
plant
|
a plant that contributes to
the survival of seedlings of other species by
providing shade and nutrients.
|
nutrient
cycle
|
when vegetable and animal
matter decomposes and nutrients are released back
to the soil to be taken up by again by
plants.
|
pinnate
|
having leaflets arranged on
each side of a common stalk
|
photosynthesis
|
the ability of plants to
produce their own food by converting energy from
the sun, carbon dioxide, water and inorganic salts
to produce carbohydrates with the aid of
chlorophyll.
|
prehensile
|
adapted for seizing or
grabbing hold of something. Monkeys with prehensile
tails can use them to hold on to branches for
balance.
|
ruminant
|
A mammal with a stomach
which is divided into four compartments. It is able
to extract the maximum amount of nutrients and
moisture from the foods it eats by chewing a cud
which consists of regurgitated, partially digested
foods. Ruminants have cloven hooves and usually
horns.
|
stolon
|
a horizontal stem at or
just below the surface of the ground, which
produces new plants from buds at its tips or nodes.
Usually found in grasses.
|
stoma
|
a small opening in the
epidermis of leaves through which the plant takes
in carbon dioxide, and gives off water and oxygen
|
transpiration
|
when a plant takes in
carbon dioxide, and gives off water and oxygen
through the stoma on the underside of its
leaves
|
|