Wetland Plants and Plant Communities of Minnesota and Wisconsin
GLOSSARY
- acid:
- having more hydrogen ions than hydroxyl ions; a pH of less than 7.
- aerobic:
- a condition in which free molecular oxygen is present.
- alien:
- a non-native (introduced) species, which may or may not be naturalized.
- alkaline:
- basic, having more hydroxyl ions than hydrogen ions; a pH of greater than
7.
- anaerobic:
- a condition in which free molecular oxygen is absent.
- annual:
- a plant that completes its life cycle in one growing season, then dies.
- auriculate:
- having ear-shaped lobes at the base.
- awn:
- a bristle, often located in a terminal position on a specific plant part.
- beak:
- a relatively stout tip such as on a nutlet.
- biennial:
- a plant that completes its life cycle in two years, usually flowering
and producing fruit the second year, and then dies.
- calcareous:
- limy, rich in calcium, usually in the form of calcium carbonates.
- calciphile:
- a plant species with a high tolerance of calcium.
- callosites:
- a hardened thickening of plant tissue.
- calyx:
- the frequently green outer series of floral leaves (or sometimes the only
ones); the sepals collectively.
- CFR:
- Code of Federal Regulations.
- clasping:
- partly surrounding another organ at the base.
- clonal:
- forming clones.
- clone:
- a group of vegetatively produced, genetically identical individuals.
- colonial:
- forming colonies.
- colony:
- a group of individuals of the same species produced vegetatively or by
seed, that may or may not be genetically identical.
- community:
- in reference to plants, an interacting assemblage of plant populations
sharing a given habitat.
- composite:
- a member of the aster family (Compositae).
- corolla:
- the inner series of floral leaves, often showy; the petals collectively.
- dbh:
- diameter at breast height; a measure of tree diameter at 4.5 feet above
the ground or root collar.
- deciduous:
- falling off, usually at a certain season, after completion of the normal
function.
- dichotomous:
- forking into two directions of essentially equal branches.
- disc:
- in the aster family (Compositae), a group of tubular flowers located in
the central part of the flower head.
- dolomite:
- in Minnesota and Wisconsin, a bedrock mineral consisting of calcium magnesium
carbonate (CaMg(C03)2)
- dominant:
- a species that exerts a considerable influence on, or defines the character
of, a community because of such factors as its number, coverage, or size.
- ericaceous:
- refers to members of the heath family (Ericaceae).
- fen:
- in a broad sense, wetlands that are predominately supported by groundwater
discharge; fens can be segregated by soil chemistry, water chemistry, and
vegetation, e.g., calcareous fens.
- floret:
- a small or reduced flower, such as that of grasses.
- follicle:
- a dry fruit that splits open along one seam.
- forbs:
- herbaceous plants, excluding the grasses, rushes and sedges; especially
used to describe broad-leaved, flowering plants.
- frond:
- the leaf of ferns; also, the vegetative structure of duckweeds (Lemnaceae)
that is not differentiated into stem and leaf.
- genus:
- the first part of the scientific name for an organism, always capitalized
(plural, genera).
- glabrous:
- smooth.
- glaucous:
- covered with a pale, waxy coating or "bloom."
- glume:
- a specialized, scale-like leaf at the base of a grass spikelet.
- graminoid:
- grass-like plants including grasses, sedges and rushes.
- growing season:
- that portion of the year when soil temperatures at 19.7 inches below the
surface exceed biologic zero (41 degrees F.). This can be approximated by
the number of frost-free days (i.e., the period between the last frost of
spring and first frost of autumn).
- herb:
- a herbaceous (non-woody) plant.
- hispid:
- having rigid hairs.
- hybrid:
- a cross-breed between two species.
- hydrophyte:
- a plant growing in water or on a substrate that at least periodically
is deficient in oxygen due to excessive water content.
- hypersaline:
- extremely salty; very high concentration of dissolved salts.
- inflorescence:
- the entire flower cluster of a plant.
- isodiametric:
- having equal diameters.
- keel:
- a longitudinal ridge (like the keel of a boat).
- leaflet:
- one of the blades of a compound leaf.
- lemma:
- the lowermost scale-like leaves at the base of a grass floret.
- lenticel:
- a small dot on the bark of young trees or shrubs.
- ligule:
- in the grasses (Gramineae), a papery extension at the summit of a leaf
sheath.
- lip:
- one part of a two-lipped (bilabiate) flower; in the orchids (Orchidaceae),
the odd petal that is usually the lowest.
- macroscopic:
- visible without magnification.
- mesic:
- intermediate between dry and wet conditions; moderately moist.
- mixosaline:
- of intermediate salinity; somewhat salty.
- monotype:
- a plant community consisting of only one species.
- muck:
- a soil consisting of partially decomposed plant remains where the decomposition
has progressed to a point where the contributing plant species cannot be
identified; an organic soil as opposed to mineral soils.
- native:
- an indigenous species.
- nerve:
- a ridge or vein on a plant structure.
- nonpersistent emergent:
- an aquatic emergent plant whose upper portions (stems, leaves) die back
at the end of the growing season (e.g., arrowhead).
- nutlet:
- a small dry fruit that does not split open along a seam or surface; as
used herein, synonymous with achene.
- ocrea:
- a stipular, tube-shaped sheath that surrounds the stem just above the
leaf base; a characteristic of the smartweed family (Polygonaceae).
- oogonia:
- eggs of algae.
- ovary:
- the lower, usually enlarged portion of the pistil, in which the seeds
are produced.
- peat:
- a soil consisting of partially decomposed plant remains in which the contributing
plant species can still be identified; an organic soil as opposed to mineral
soils.
- pedicel:
- the stalk of a single flower.
- perennial:
- a plant species living three or more years.
- perfect flower:
- a flower having both pistils and stamens.
- perigynium:
- a flask-like papery structure that surrounds the ovary in Carex
(plural, perigynia).
- persistent emergent:
- an aquatic emergent plant that remains standing through the winter and
at least until the start of the next growing season (e.g., cattails).
- petiole:
- the stalk of a leaf.
- pinnae:
- one of the primary lateral divisions of a pinnately compound leaf.
- pinnatifid:
- a deeply lobed, pinnate-like pattern cut along a central axis; the inter-segmented
clefts, however, do not reach the axis.
- pioneer:
- a plant species that characteristically first colonizes exposed soils.
- pistil:
- the seed producing organ of a flower, composed of an ovary, and one or
more styles and stigmas.
- pistillate:
- having only pistils (lacking staminate (pollen-producing) organs).
- pith:
- the spongy central portion of stems and branches.
- pubescent:
- hairy.
- punctate:
- dotted.
- rachis:
- a main axis, such as that of a compound leaf.
- ray:
- in the aster family (Compositae), a strap-shaped marginal flower radiating
from the flower head.
- receptacle:
- in the aster family (Compositae), an enlarged summit of the flower stalk
to which the flowers are attached.
- recurved:
- curved backward.
- revolute:
- having the margins rolled backward.
- rhizome:
- an underground stem, usually growing horizontally.
- rosette:
- a dense, circular, clump of leaves.
- saline:
- salty; having a high concentration of dissolved salts.
- samara:
- a dry fruit, which does not split open along a seam, and has a well-developed
wing.
- scabrous:
- rough.
- scale:
- a small, modified leaf subtending an individual flower, especially referring
to sedges (Cyperaceae).
- secund:
- arranged along only one side of the axis.
- sepal:
- a single segment of the calyx, usually green.
- sessile:
- lacking a stalk.
- spikelet:
- a small spike with reduced flowers on a central axis; applied to the flower
cluster (inflorescence) of grasses (Gramineae) and sedges (Cyperaceae).
- sporangia:
- a case or structure that contains spores.
- spur:
- a flower part that is a hollow, pointed projection.
- stamen:
- the male or pollen-producing organ of the flower.
- staminate:
- having only stamens (lacking pistillate (seed producing) organs).
- stand:
- a particular example of a plant community.
- stigma:
- the terminal portion of a pistil which is receptive to pollen.
- stipe:
- a stalk.
- stipule:
- an appendage at the base of a leaf.
- stolon:
- an above-ground, horizontal stem.
- strigose:
- having straight, stiff hairs that are flattened along a surface.
- style:
- the stalk-like portion of a pistil connecting the stigma and ovary.
- tepal:
- in a given plant, sepals and petals that strongly resemble each other.
- thyrse:
- an inflorescence resembling a compact panicle.
- till:
- unstratified and unsorted material deposited directly by a glacier.
- tuber:
- a starchy, enlarged portion of a rhizome or root.
- tubercle:
- a small enlargement or appendage, usually distinct in color or texture,
as in the "cap" on the nutlet of spike-rushes.
- unisexual:
- having only stamens (staminate) or pistils (pistillate).
- upland:
- an area that does not have the hydrologic conditions necessary for the
development of hydric (wetland) soils and establishment of wetland plant
communities.
- villous:
- having long, soft hairs that are not matted.
- wetlands:
- areas saturated or inundated by surface or groundwater at a frequency
and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances
do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated
soil conditions.
- whorl:
- a group of three or more parts surrounding a node.
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