Scandinavian Mountains over 2000 metres - James Baxter
Below is a glossary of terms used in the plant descriptions:
Alternate |
Refers to leaves arising from opposite sides of the stem at regular staggered intervals |
Annual |
A plant which completes its life cycle from germination to fruiting, and then death, in a single season |
Axil |
The angle between the upper side of the leaf and the stem |
Biennial |
A plant which complete its life cycle in 2 years, germinating in the first and fruiting and dying in the second |
Blade |
The collective leafy components on a fern frond |
Bulbis |
A small bulb-like organ found in the leaf axils on the aerial stems of some plants |
Calyx |
The collective name for all the sepals |
Dioecious |
Having seperate male and female plants but borne on different plants |
Lanceolate |
Lance shaped and widest below middle, usually referring to leaf shape |
Lobe |
Referring to leaves that are divided but not completely separated by shallow or deep protrusions |
Monoecious |
Having separate male and female flowers, but on the same plant |
Palmate |
Leaf with lobes radiating from a common point like a hand |
Perennial |
A plant which survives many years, generally fruiting every year |
Petiole |
The leaf stalk |
Pinnae |
The leaflets of a pinnate leaf |
Pinnate |
A leaf with leaflets arranged either side of a common stalk |
Pinnule |
A leaflet on a pinnae which is pinnately divided, as on many ferns |
Rhizome |
A persistant underground creeping stem |
Sepal |
Often green leaflike scale covering the flower bud and remaing outside the petals |
Spore |
Microscopic body which becomes detached from the parent plant and from which a new plant can develop. Produced in the sporangium on the parent plant |
Stolon |
A creeping stem often on the surface growing from the base of erect stems |
Rosette |
A circular fan of leaves arising from a level, often the base |
Umbel |
An inflorescence in which all the stalks radiate from the same point |
When referring to the height of a plant the following guide applies:
Low |
Short |
Medium |
Tall |
1-10cm |
5-20cm |
15-75cm |
60-250cm |