HERB: a plant with no persistent or woody parts above ground.
SHRUB: a perennial woody plant usually with several main stems arising from or near the ground.
ANNUAL: a plant that completes its life cycle, from seed germination to seed production followed by death, within a single growing season.
PERENNIAL: a plant that continues growth from year to year.
DWARF SHRUBS are diminutive (very small) plants usually with erect stems. The leaves and catkins may also be diminutive, but not always. Species such as Salix arctica, which is a dwarf shrub, may have dwarf stature or be prostrate but have leaves and catkins that are as large as those of tall shrubs.
LOOSE CLUSTERS: two or more stems growing loosely together and upward from the base. These are often plants with short rhizomes.
TUFTED: or CESPITOSE: with several stems, growing tightly together and upward from the base, in tufts.
CUSHION-LIKE: rounded, compact, plants; stems not visible.
MATTED: flattened, spread out, stems tangled or interwoven.
BASAL ROSETTES: dense radiating clusters of leaves at or near ground level.
CAUDEX: a short main stem zone above a tap root. Plants with an abrupt transition between the root, usually a taproot and the leaves.
BRANCHING STEMS: main stem with distinct branches at intervals along the stem.
TRAILING stems: stems arising from a root zone and growing along the surface of the ground for considerable lengths relative to the size of the leaves.
LAYERING: branches lying on the top of the ground and rooting.
RHIZOMATOUS MATS: mats formed from rhizomes which are horizontal underground stems.
VERTICAL UNDERGROUND OR GROUND LEVEL STEMS: conspicuous stems development in these positions, usually plants with little above ground stem development. CAUDEX: The persisting transition stem zone between the roots and the otehrwise annual leaves.
Annual plants usually have no horizontal stems.
STOLON: a horizontal stem which creeps over the surface of the ground. The end of the stolons root and vegetatively propagate new plants. eg. Spider Saxifrage and Puccinellia ×phryganodes .
COMPACT: rhizomes or stolons 1–2 cm long.
SMOOTH: surface devoid of markings or ornamentation (hair types are not considered here).
STRIATE: with fine longitudinal lines or ridges.
GROOVED: with deep longitudinal lines or ridges.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
DECUMBENT: a stem that lies flat on the ground but with the tip ascending.
PROSTRATE: a stem that lies flat on the ground.
NOTE: There are many plants in the Arctic that have a basal rosette or tuft of leaves from which a long mostly leafless stem emerges with a terminal flower or inflorescence. This is called a scape or flowering stem to distinguish it from a vegetative (leaf-bearing) stem; the vegetative stems may be very short and should be looked for within the basal rosette or tuft of leaves. In Juncus, an erect stem occurs between the rhizome and the leaf subtending the inflorescence that may be terminal or lateral. Several Arctic species of grasses have been observed to develop flowering stems that are initially prostrate but that become almost erect at anthesis, for example, some species of Puccinellia. These have been scored as having both states.
TRAILING stem lies flat on the ground (prostrate) and creeps but does not root. Term used for willows.
GLABROUS: surface smooth without any form of hairs or surface roughness.
HAIRY: with soft hairs that lack stiffness.
SCABROUS: surface with short stiff hairs that make the surface feel rough.
RESINOUS WART-LIKE GLANDS: conspicuous bumpy structures that secret resin. Found in Betula glandulosa.
GLANDULAR HAIRS: hairs that have a bulge that may secrete fluids at the tip.
GLANDULAR HAIRS: hairs that have a bulge that may secrete fluids at the tip.
SPREADING: hairs at angles 30–60°.
ERECT: hairs at 90°.
REFLEXED: hairs pointing down at angles more than 90°.
GLAUCOUS: covered with a whitish or bluish waxy coating (bloom), as on the surface of purple plums.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
GLABRESCENT: initially hairy but becoming sparsely hairy of glabrous(smooth) with age.
HAIRY: with any form of hairs.
PILOSE: bearing sparse, long, soft, straight, shaggy hairs.
VILLOUS: bearing dense or moderately dense, long, soft, shaggy, but not matted hairs.
TOMENTOSE: bearing short, dense, soft, wooly hairs, that are matted or tangled.
WOOLLY: bearing long, dense, soft hairs, that are tangled.
SILKY: straight, appressed, shiny hairs.
EPIDERMIS: the outermost layer of bark; refers to young branches.
FLAKY: peeling in relatively large pieces.
GLAUCOUS: covered with a whitish or bluish waxy coating (bloom), as on the surface of a plum.
THINLY GLAUCOUS: waxy surface visible when scratched or with isolated patches of wax.
THICKLY GLAUCOUS: covered with a bluish or whitish coating,
GLABROUS: without hairs.
GLABRESCENT: initially hairy but becoming glabrous.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
PUBERULENT: minutely pubescent or downy; hairs very short.
PUBESCENT: covered with short, fine hairs, downy.
PILOSE: bearing sparse, long, soft, straight, shaggy hairs.
VILLOUS: bearing dense or moderately dense, long, soft, shaggy, but not matted hairs.
WOOLLY: bearing long, dense, soft hairs, that are tangled.
SILKY: straight, appressed, shiny hairs.
APPRESSED: hair pressed close or flat against the surface.
FISHHOOK-CURVED: shaped, from the surface, as a fish hook.
SPREADING: hair standing out from the surface.
ACHLOROPHYLLOUS: lacking chlorophyll; not green.
vertical leaves clustered at the base of the plant with conspicuously few leaves along the stems.
A BASAL ROSETTE: a dense radiating cluster of leaves at or near ground level.
PROPHYLL:
OPPOSITE: a form of leaf arrangement in which the leaves arise in pairs at each node.
WHORLED: a form of leaf arrangement in which three or more leaves arise at each node.
COMPOUND LEAF: a leaf blade that is separated into two or more distinct leaflets.
FROND: the leaf-like structure of a fern consisting of a central rachis and pinnae, leaflet-like blades that may be further pinnately divided.
DECIDUOUS: falling off, as leaves from a tree; not evergreen; not persistent.
MARCESCENT: having leaves that are withered, dry and possibly brown, but remaining attached to the plant. This may be important in protecting and reducing water loss in plants.
Sometimes subsequently produced sheaths without blades may be misinterpreted as prophylls. These may be recognized by having more than two pronounced veins.
SMOOTH: devoid of any trichomes (hairs).
SCABROUS: rough to the touch because of small, bristly, prickle-hairs on the surface.
HAIRY: with longer, more slender hairs on the surface.
KEEL: a raised or pronounced ridge that is V-shaped.
NOTE: To determine if stipules are present check immature leaves (where they should be obvious) or look for stipule scars at the base of mature leaves. A stipule protects a leaf in bud.
SCALE: a thin, usually small and dry structure.
LEAF-LIKE: resembling a leaf.
SHEATHING: the stipules form a tube around the stem.
OCREA (=OCREATE): a tubular stipule, or pair of opposite stipules forming a tube.
CONNATE: stipules united at the base in pairs around the petiole.
PUBESCENT:covered with short, fine hairs.
PILOSE: bearing sparse, long, soft, straight, shaggy hairs.
VILLOUS: bearing dense or moderately dense, long, soft, shaggy, but not matted hairs.
TOMENTOSE: bearing short, dense, soft, wooly hairs, that are matted or tangled.
WOOLLY: bearing long, dense, soft hairs, that are tangled.
SILKY: straight, appressed, shiny hairs.
ACUMINATE: gradually tapering to a sharp point and forming concave sides along the tip.
ACUTE: tapering to a point; angle less than 90 degrees, the sides are essentially straight or slightly convex.
OBTUSE: at an angle more than 90 degrees, the sides are essentially straight or slightly convex.
ROUNDED: a rounded apex, approximately 180°
DENTATE: with teeth-like tips.
PETIOLE: the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the stem.
PETIOLE: the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the stem.
NOTE: Leaf characters are based on the largest, mature, medial leaf on the shoot.
NOTE: Leaf characters are based on the largest, mature, medial leaf on the shoot.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
GLABRESCENT: initially hairy but becoming glabrous. SCALES: reduced leaf-like structures, several cells wide.
PUBERULENT: minutely pubescent or downy.
PUBESCENT: covered with short, fine hairs.
PILOSE: bearing sparse, long, soft, straight, shaggy hairs.
VILLOUS: bearing dense or moderately dense, long, soft, shaggy, but not matted hairs.
TOMENTOSE: with short, dense interwoven hairs.
WOOLLY: bearing long, dense, soft hairs, that are tangled.
SILKY: straight, appressed, shiny hairs.
NOTE: Leaf characters are based on the largest, mature, medial leaf on the shoot.
SPREADING: at an angle of 10–80 degrees from the culm.
ERECT: at an angle of 80–90 degrees from the culm.
REFLEXED: the angle is greater than 90 degrees.
FLOCCOSE: with tufts of soft woolly hairs that often rub off easily. Floccose hairs are flat, irregularly turned, twisted, or felted and appressed to the surface. The hairs are usually so long and intertwined that it is impossile ot tell where a single hair begins or ends. They often form a dense tomentum on the lower leaf surface and petiole but may also occur scattered on the peduncle and inflorescences axes.
CURVED: hairs with a loose curl to 45–120°.
WAVY: with more than one loose curl, like a wave. CRISPTE HAIRS: are unixellular, and less than 1 mm long. The more or less individual hairs are terete, wawy often in a corkscrew-like fashion. They may form a tomentum on the lower leaf surface, or the petiole and sometimes they make the peduncle appear villous. Among our species, such hairs characterise P. pulchella, P. rubricaulis s. lat. and P. vahliana.
NOT PERSISTING: the tissue between the vascular bundles disintegrating usually in the first growing season to leave the vascular bundles as fibres.
MARGINS FUSED TO APEX: sheath a hollow tube with no overlapping margins at the apex.
MARGINS FUSED ONLY IN THE LOWER PART: margins free and usually overlapping in the upper part.
Most Arctic grasses have state 2. Tropical grasses often have state 3.
TRICHOME: any hair or hair-like outgrowth of the epidermis.
PUBESCENT: covered with soft, downy hairs.
HIRSUTE: covered with rather coarse and stiff hairs, these long, straight, and erect or ascending.
SCABROUS: rough to the touch, usually because of the presence of small prickle-hairs on the surface.
BRISTLY: with prickle-hairs.
TAPERING INTO THE BLADE: the transition between sheath and blade is gradual.
ABRUPTLY CONTRACTED INTO THE BLADE: The transition between sheath and blade occurs in distinct and a narrow region.
MEMBRANOUS : thin, soft, flexible, more or less translucent material, lacking a fringe of trichomes (hairs) on the margin.
FRINGED MEMBRANE: membrane having a fringe of trichomes on the margin.
glabrous: without hairs.
LINEAR: resembling a line; long and narrow with more or less parallel sides.
LANCEOLATE: lance-shaped; much longer than wide, with the widest point below the middle.
OVATE-OBLONG: rectangular in outline, but slightly broader at one end, and attached at the broad end.
TRANSVERSELY OBLONG: in the shape of a rectangle, attached at the long side.
ACUMINATE: apical region with sides somewhat concave, tapering to an extended point.
ACUTE: apex formed by margins meeting at less than a 90 degree angle, sides more or less straight.
OBTUSE: at an angle of more than 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees.
TRUNCATE: apical region flat.
ENTIRE: not toothed, notched, or divided, as the continuous margins of some leaves.
EROSE: irregularly and shallowly toothed or gnawed.
LACERATE: irregularly cut or torn.
CLEFT: incised at the midpoint to produce lobes.
BASE: the end of the leaf blade nearest to the point of attachment.
CORDATE: heart-shaped, with the notch at the base.
TRUNCATE: with a squared base, as if it had been cut off.
OBTUSE: at an angle of more than 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees.
ACUTE: tapering to a point with an angle of 45–90 degrees.
CUNEATE: wedge-shaped, triangular; pie-shaped.
ATTENUATE: tapering gradually to a narrow base.
ROUNDED: with a rounded base.
HASTATE: with two pointed lobes projecting at the base.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
PUBERULENT: minutely pubescent or downy.
PUBESCENT: covered with short, fine downy hairs.
PILOSE: bearing sparse, long, soft, straight, shaggy hairs.
VILLOUS: bearing dense or moderately dense, long, soft, shaggy, but nor matted hairs.
TOMENTOSA: bearing short, dense, interwoven hairs.
WOOLLY: bearing long, dense, soft hairs, that are tangled.
SILKY: straight, appressed, shiny hairs.
PETIOLE: the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the stem.
NOTE: Leaf characters are based on the largest, mature leaf on a shoot.
SPREADING: at an angle of 10–80 degrees from the culm.
DIVARICATE: at an angle of 80–90 degrees from the culm.
REFLEXED: the angle is greater than 90 degrees.
HERBACEOUS: thin, soft, flexible and usually green.
LEATHERY: leather-like.
SUCCULENT: flesh-like; plump, pulpy.
MEMBRANOUS: thin, soft flexible, and more or less translucent, like a membrane.
CIRCINATE: coiled from the top downwards, into a ring or partially so.
FOLDED IN BUD: leaf margins touching.
NOTE: When using leaf shape, choose leaves from the lower part of the stem.
LINEAR: resembling a line; long and narrow with more or less parallel sides.
OBLONG: two to four times longer than wide with nearly parallel sides.
ELLIPTIC: in the shape of an ellipse, or a narrow oval; broadest at the middle and narrower at the two equal ends.
CIRCULAR: approximately circular in outline.
LANCEOLATE: lance or spear-shaped; much longer than wide, with the widest point below the middle.
OVATE: egg-shaped in outline and attached at the broad end.
OBLANCEOLATE: inversely lanceolate, with the widest point above the middle.
OBOVATE: inversely ovate, with the attachment at the narrower end.
SPATULATE: spoon-shaped, with a rounded blade above gradually tapering to the base.
RENIFORM: kidney shaped.
TRIANGULAR OR DELTOID: shaped like an equilateral or Isosceles triangle.
LYRATE: a pinnatifid leaf in which the terminal lobe is large and rounded and the lower and lateral lobes are smaller.
BLADE AURICLES: are found at the base of a leaf blade and usually at right angles to it.
SHEATH AURRICLES: are at the apex of the sheath and usually erect and parallet with the blade..
TRIANGULAR: outline of a transverse section of the leaf appears like an equilateral triangle, sometimes with rounded corners. FLAT: the transverse section in one plane.
BRISTLE-LIKE: thin and stiff like a bristle.
INVOLUTE: with margins rolled inwards.
REVOLUTE: with margins rolled outwards.
STRONGLY KEELED: with a prominent midvein.
FOLDED: leaves V-shaped or loosely curved in cross section, margins more or less parallel to each other.
FOLDED or CONDUPLICATE: folded so that the sides face each other.
CANICULATE: leaves essentially circular in cross-section with a groove running down the adaxial surface.
CONVOLUTE: overlapping with one edge and curled inwards.
PINNATE: a pattern of venation with veins arranged on opposite sides of one main vein.
TRINERVED: appearing to have three nerves arising from near the base.
PALMATE: a pattern of venation with veins radiating from a common point, like the fingers on a hand.
PARALLEL: a pattern of venation with main veins parallel to the leaf axis or to each other.
APPEARING ONE-VEINED: a pattern of venation where one vein is conspicuous; other veins may be present but they are not easily seen.
RETICULATE: veins in a network pattern.
IMPRESSED: leaf veins situated below the surface; usually the leaf has a thicker mesophyll. MESOPHYLL: the central tissues of a leaf between the upper and lower epidermis.
PROTRUDE: leaf veins that partially stick out.
FLAT: leaf veins situated at the surface; usually the leaf has a thin mesophyll.
NOTE: The apparent position of the secondary veins can intergrade and may be an artefact of a dried specimen.
SECONDARY VEINS: are veins arising from the midrib.
NOTE: Stomata can appear as minute, pale dots under about 10–25X magnification and sometimes to the naked eye on the upper surface.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
SCABROUS: rough to the touch, usually because of the presence of small prickle-hairs on the surface.
SHINY: with a surface similar to semi-gloss paint.
HIGHLY GLOSSY: with a surface similar to high gloss paint.
GLAUCOUS: covered with a whitish or bluish waxy coating (bloom), as on the surface of a plum.
glabrous: without hairs.
GLABRESCENT: initially hairy but becoming glabrous.
SCABROUS: rough to the touch because of small, bristly, prickle-hairs.
HAIRY: with longer hairs.
PILOSE: bearing sparse, long, soft, straight, shaggy hairs.
VILLOUS: bearing dense or moderately dense, long, soft, shaggy, but not matted hairs.
SILKY: straight, appressed, shiny hairs.
STRIGOSE: covered with straight, stiff hairs or bristles.
PUBESCENT: covered with short, fine hairs easilly visible to the naked eye.
STELLATE: hairs arranged in the form of stars, with several to many branches radiating from the base.
BRANCHED: with two or more forking divisions.
SHINY: with a surface similar to semi-gloss paint.
HIGHLY GLOSSY: with a surface similar to high gloss paint.
GLAUCOUS: covered with a whitish or bluish waxy coating (bloom), as on the surface of a plum.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
GLABRESCENT: initially hairy but becoming glabrous.
SCABROUS: rough to the touch because of small, bristly, prickle-hairs.
HAIRY: with longer, more slender hairs on the surface.
SCALY: small flakes like fish scales.
PUBERULENT: covered with short, fine hairs, better seen at 10x or 40x magnification.
PILOSE: bearing sparse, long, soft, straight, shaggy hairs.
VILLOUS: bearing dense or moderately dense, long, soft, shaggy, but not matted hairs.
TOMENTOSE: with short, dense interwoven hairs.
WOOLLY: bearing long, dense, soft hairs, that are tangled.
SILKY: straight, appressed, shiny hairs.
STRIGOSE: covered with straight, stiff hairs or bristles.
MODERATELY DENSE: surface about 50% visible.
DENSE: surface completely obscured.
CURVED: hairs with a loose curl to 45–120°.
WAVY: with more than one loose curl, like a wave.
SPREADING: hair standing out from the surface.
ERECT: hair vertical, not declining or spreading.
LINEAR DIVISIONS: leaf divided into lobes that are cut more than half way to the base.
ENTIRE: not toothed; the margins smooth.
GLANDULAR-DOTTED: margins are entire but there are glandular dots, small bulges that secrete fluid on the edge.
SERRULATE: minute, sharp teeth pointing forward.
CRENATE: rounded teeth, scalloped along the margin.
SERRATE: sharp large teeth pointing forward.
DENTATE: or toothed, a leaf margin with sharp teeth or indentations pointing outwards at right angles to the midrib.
DEEPLY DIVIDED: Leaf blade with divisions cut more than half way to the base; these may someteimes be mistaken for compound leaves as in Myriophyllum.
TEETH: sharp pointed strutures like a saw or sharks teeth.
TEETH: sharp pointed strutures like a saw or sharks teeth.
SUBMARGINAL: glands borne on the upper surface, slightly in from the edge. GLANDS; small bulges that store or secrete fluids.
SCABROUS: with stiff hairs that contain silica and feel prickly to the touch.
NON-GRANDULAR: with soft textured usually straight hairs without silica, or globular end glands.
GLANDULAR HAIRS: hairs that have often globular ends that store or secrete fluids.
APEX, (plural APICES): the tip; the farthest point of attachment of the leaf to the stem.
ACUMINATE: gradually tapering to a sharp point at an angle of less than 45 degrees usually forming concave sides along the tip.
ACUTE: tapering to a point with an angle of 45–90 degrees.
OBTUSE: at an angle of more than 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees.
ROUNDED: a rounded apex.
RETUSE: with a shallow notch in a round or blunt apex.
MUCRONATE: with a sharp point, short spur, or spiny tip.
PINNATE: a compound leaf with leaflets arranged in two rows, one on each side of the midrib.
DIGITATE: a compound leaf with 4 or more leaflets divided from a common point, like the fingers of a hand.
DECOMPOUND: leaves that are more than once divided, or compound.
OBLONG: two to four times longer than wide with nearly parallel sides.
ELLIPTIC: in the shape of an ellipse, or a narrow oval; broadest at the middle and narrower at the two equal ends.
OVATE: egg-shaped in outline and attached at the broad end.
OBOVATE: inversely ovate, with the attachment at the narrow end.
LANCEOLATE: lance-shaped; much longer than wide, with the widest point below the middle.
OBLANCEOLATE: inversely lanceolate, with the widest point above the middle.
LACINATE: divided into several long and more or less equal segments.
TRIANGULAR: having the shape of a triangle with two equal side and the apex pointing up.
OBTRIANGULAR:having the shape of a triangle with two equal side and a flat surface pointing up.
DIOECIOUS: having the female and male flowers on different plants.
ASEXUAL: reproducing without sexual union.
BISEXUAL: having both male and female reproductive organs in the same flower or capitulum.
SPORANGIA(plural): SPORANGIUM (singular), a case containing spores that develop into a tiny plant, the gametophyte generation. Character that separates the Pteriodphytes. In the Arctic these are in the families Equisetaceae, Lycopodiaceae and Polypodiaceae.
INDUSIUM: the covering over a sporangium that may be a flap of tissue or in Woodsia Numerous multicellular hairs.
VILLOUS: bearing dense or moderately dense, long, soft, shaggy, but not matted hairs.
TOMENTOSE: with short, dense interwoven hairs.
SILKY: straight, appressed, shiny hairs.
PUBESCENT: covered with short, fine hairs easilly visible to the naked eye.
PUBERULENT: covered with short, fine hairs, better seen at 10x or 40x magnification.
FLOCCOSE:
NODE: the area on a stem (culm) where one or more leaves are borne.
NOT EXPOSED: sheaths longer than the internode.
EXPOSED: sheaths shorter than the internode.
In the Arctic, the plants frequently do not elongate enough for nodes to be visible. In a limited number of species, however, whether or not nodes are visible can be a useful indication of whether sheaths are longer or shorter than the internodes.
NODE: the area on a stem (culm) where one or more leaves are borne.
NOT EXPOSED: sheaths longer than the internode.
EXPOSED: sheaths shorter than the internode.
In the Arctic, the plants frequently do not elongate enough for nodes to be visible. In a limited number of species, however, whether or not nodes are visible can be a useful indication of whether sheaths are longer or shorter than the internodes.
INFLATED: puffed out, loosely fitting around the stem.
BLADE: the flat expanded portion of a leaf.
INFLORESCENCE: a cluster of flowers that are rarely replaced by vegetative bulblets.
Not to be recorded for Asteraceaea.
SPICATE: an inflorescence with sessile or subsessile flowers or spikelets attached directly to the main axis. Flowers or spikelets maturing from the bottom upwards.
RACEMOSE: an inflorescence with pedicelled flowers or spikelets attached directly to the main axis and maturing from the bottom upwards.
PEDICEL: the stalk of an individual flower in an inflorescence or the stalk of a grass spikelet or sedge secondary spike.
PANICULATE: a branched inflorescence with pedicelled flowers, maturing from the bottom upwards.
CYMOSE: a branched flat-topped or round-topped inflorescence, with the terminal flowers blooming first,
FASCICULATE: a tight bundle or clusters of pedicelled flowers originating from a common point.
HEAD-LIKE: a dense cluster of sessile (no pedicel) or subsessile (slight pedicel) flowers, sometimes with as few as two flowers as in Juncus biglumis
CATKIN: an inflorescence consisting of a dense spike or raceme of apetalous (no petals), unisexual flowers.
UMBEL: an inflorescence in which the stalks of the flowers all arise from the top of the main stalk.
CAPITULUM OR HEAD (plural capitula): a dense inflorescence usually comprised of sessile small flowers that appear to be a single flower (dandelion).
DICHASIUM: inflorescence in which two lateral branches occur at about the same level with flowers at approximately the same stage of development.
CAPITULESENCE: an inflorescence composed of more than one capitulum.
TERMINAL: located at the end of the stem.
AXILLARY: arising in the leaf axil between the stem and the leaf.
DENSE: Flowers or spikelets tightly grouped.
DIFFUSE: with the branches spread out, so that the inflorescence is not dense. This character should be assessed when the plant is at or after anthesis; most inflorescences will likely be compact and considered dense before this time.
LINEAR: resembling a line; long and narrow with more or less parallel sides.
OBLONG: two to four times longer than wide with nearly parallel sides.
LANCEOLATE: lance-shaped; much longer than wide, with the widest point below the middle.
OVATE: egg-shaped in outline and attached at the broad end.
GLOBOSE: shaped like a round ball.
OBOVATE: inversely ovate, with the attachment at the narrow end.
ELLIPSOID: football-shaped; a three dimensional structure that is elliptic in long section and circular in cross section.
CYLINDRICAL: cylinder-shaped, elongate and round in cross-section.
Character is not to be scored for diffuse inflorescences.
In grasses the length is measured from the bottom node to the top of the inflorescence, excluding the awns.
The width is measured at the widest point of the inflorescence, and includes the awns.
BULBIL: a small bulb borne in a leaf or bract axil (point between the stem or bract and a leaf). They can easily detach and fall to the ground and vegetatively propagate a new plant (a form of vegetative propagation).
Glabrous: without hairs.
SCABROUS: rough to the touch because of small, bristly, prickle-hairs.
HAIRY: with longer hairs.
These character states are distinguishable with the naked eye or at 10X magnification.
RACHIS: stalk between the flowers of an inflorescence.
SCABROUS: with small, prickle-hairs.
SMOOTH: without any roughness.
SCABROUS: rough to the touch because of small, bristly, prickle-hairs.
PUBESCENT: covered with short, fine hairs, downy.
GLANDULAR HAIRS: capable of secreting products, frequently stalked.
BRACT LEAVES: reduced leaves on a flowering stem or pedicel, usually, but not always closely associated with a flower or flower cluster.
MULTISPICATE: composed of two or more spikes.
SESSILE: the catkin is attached directly onto the stem.
ASCENDING: within the range of angles between erect and divergent.
DIVERGENT: more of less at right angles to the inflorescence.
REFLEXED: bent back, rigidly turned over, and maybe downwards.
PENDENT: hanging or drooping down.
STAMINATE: male flowers with anthers.
PISTIL: either a single carpel (female reproductive organs) or a group of fused carpels
PISTILLATE: female flowers with ovaries.
DISC FLORET: symmetrical floret at the centre of an Asteraceae head.
INVOLUCRE: one or more whorls of small leaves or bracts (phyllaries) standing close beneath a flower or flower structure. Common in the Daisy family, also occurs in other families.
BRACT: a much-reduced leaf, particularly the small or scale-like leaves in a flower cluster or associated with the flowers.
Pedicels that have bracts leaves at some distance from the flower are found in the Caryophyllaceae.
LINEAR DIVISIONS: bract divided into lobes that are cut more than half way to the base.
LINEAR: resembling a line; long and narrow with more or less parallel sides.
OBLONG: two to four times longer than wide with nearly parallel sides.
LANCEOLATE: lance-shaped; much longer than wide, with the widest point below the middle.
LANCEOLATE:
OVATE: egg-shaped in outline and attached at the broad end.
WOOLLY: bearing long, dense, soft hairs, that are tangled.
Measured across the pressed involucre at the centre. INVOLUCRAL ROWS: these are one or more layers of bract leaves.
pedicelled: with pedicels, the stalks supporting the spikelets.
SESSILE: attached directly at the base, without a stalk.
DISARTICULATION: The point of disarticulation is where the spikelet breaks for seed dispersal.
GLUMES: the pair of bracts usually present at the base of the spikelet.
This character records the plane of compression of a spikelet and is best determined in flowering material because the swelling of the fruit may alter the general shape. At anthesis, most spikelets are strongly compressed so that if one is placed on a flat surface it lies either on its side, the laterally compressed condition most common in Arctic taxa, or on its front or back, the dorsally compressed condition.
LINEAR: resembling a line; long and narrow with more or less parallel sides.
OBLONG: two to four times longer than wide with nearly parallel sides.
LANCEOLATE: lance or spear-shaped, much longer than wide, with the widest point below the middle.
OVATE: egg-shaped in outline and attached at the broad end.
OBLANCEOLATE: inversely lanceolate, with the attachment at the narrower end.
OBOVATE: inversely ovate, with the attachment at the narrow end.
LEMMA: the lowermost of the two bracts enclosing the flower in the grass floret.
PALEA: the uppermost of the two bracts enclosing the flower in the grass floret.
RACHIS: axis of the catkin, bearing the flowers.
DENSELY FLOWERED: rachis not visible.
MODERATELY DENSELY FLOWERED: rachis partly visible.
LOOSELY FLOWERED: Rachis clearly visible.
Length is the distance from the tip of the catkin to the lowermost flower.
Width is measured at about the midpoint of the catkin.
SLENDER: greater than 3X longer than wide.
STOUT: less than 3X longer than wide.
SUBGLOBOSE: slightly longer than wide.
GLOBOSE: spherical in shape, like a ball.
PEDUNCLE: the stalk, which can be naked or with 2–3 green bracts, is located between the lowermost flower on the catkin and the nearest (distal) leaf on the flowering branchlet.
NOTE: Peduncle length is measured from the lowermost flower on the catkin to the nearest (distal) leaf on the flowering branchlet or, if no flowering branchlet is present, to the stem.
SESSILE: the catkin is attached directly to the branch.
FLOWERING BRANCHLET: a short, vegetative shoot on which the catkin is borne. It bears three to several leaves that correspond to the leaves at the base of normal vegetative branchlets.
NOTE: The flowering branchlet is measured from its point of attachment to the branch to the point of attachment of its uppermost (distal) leaf.
RACHIS: axis of the catkin, bearing the flowers.
DENSELY FLOWERED: rachis not visible.
MODERATELY DENSELY FLOWERED: rachis partly visible.
LOOSELY FLOWERED: Rachis clearly visible.
Length is the distance from the tip of the catkin to the lowermost flower.
Width is measured at about the midpoint of the catkin.
SLENDER: greater than 3X longer than wide.
STOUT: less than 3X longer than wide.
SUBGLOBOSE: slightly longer than wide.
GLOBOSE: spherical in shape, like a ball
PEDUNCLE: the naked stalk (or with 2–3 green bracts) located between the proximal (lowermost) flower on the catkin and the first leaf on the flowering branchlet.
NOTE: Peduncle length is measured from the lowermost flower on the catkin to the nearest (distal) leaf on the flowering branchlet or, if no flowering branchlet is present, to the stem.
SESSILE: the catkin is attached directly onto the stem.
FLOWERING BRANCHLET: a short, vegetative shoot on which the catkin is borne. It bears three to several leaves that correspond to the leaves at the base of normal vegetative branchlets.
NOTE: The flowering branchlet is measured from its point of attachment to the branch to the point of attachment of its uppermost (distal) leaf.
BISEXUAL: having both male and female reproductive organs on the same plant and in the same floral structure.
ACTINOMORPHIC: regular, radially symmetrical; a flower in which all parts are similar in size and arrangement.
ZYGOMORPHIC: transversely symmetrical; floral parts with two symmetrical halves.
FLORAL SCALE: any thin, scarious body, usually a degenerate leaf, sometimes of epidermal origin and subtending each flower.
REFLEXED: bent back, and pointing downwards.
OVATE: rounded.
OBTUSE: blunt, at an angle more than 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees.
LANCEOLATE: shaped like the head of a spear, broadest near the base, narrowing towards the top.
CUSPIDATE: tipped with a sharp point.
ACUTE: tapering to a point; angle less than 45 degrees.
OBOVATE: inversely ovate, with the attachment at the narrow end.
ROUNDED: with a rounded apex.
RETUSE: with a shallow notch in a round or blunt apex.
LACERATE: cut or cleft irregularly, as if torn.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
ENTIRE: not toothed; margins smooth.
LACERATE: cut or cleft irregularly, as if torn. DEEPLY DIVIDED: cut more than 25%.
TRUNCATE: apical region flat.
ENTIRE: not toothed; margins smooth.
DIVIDED INTO THREE LOBES: condition found in Betula.
SECOND GLUME: the upper such glume.
FIRST GLUME: the lower of the pair of bracts usually present at the base of the spikelet.
FIRST GLUME: the lower of the pair of bracts usually present at the base of the spikelet.
LINEAR: resembling a line; long and narrow with more or less parallel sides.
OBLONG: two to four times longer than wide with nearly parallel Sides.
DELTOID: triangular.
LANCEOLATE: lance-shaped; much longer than wide, with the widest point below the middle.
OVATE: egg-shaped in outline and attached at the broad end.
OBOVATE: inversely ovate, with the attachment at the narrow end.
OBLANCEOLATE: inversely lanceolate, with the attachment at the narrower end.
GLABROUS without hairs.
TRICHOMES: hairs or hair-like outgrowths, that may be scabrous (stiff) or pubescent (soft), on the surface of the glume.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
CILIATE: fringed with hairs.
CAUDATE: with a tail-like appendage.
ACUMINATE: apical region with sides somewhat concave, and which taper to an extended point.
ACUTE: apex formed by margins meeting at less than a 90 degree angle, sides more or less straight.
OBTUSE: rounded.
TRUNCATE: apical region flat.
This measurement excludes the length of the lemma awn.
LINEAR: resembling a line; long and narrow with more or less parallel sides.
OBLONG: two to four times longer than wide with nearly parallel sides.
DELTOID: triangular.
LANCEOLATE: lance-shaped; much longer than wide, with the widest point below the middle.
OVATE: egg-shaped in outline and attached at the broad end.
OBOVATE: inversely ovate, with the attachment at the narrow end.
ELLIPTIC: in the shape of an ellipse, or a narrow oval; broadest at the middle and narrower at the two equal ends.
OBLANCEOLATE: inversely lanceolate, with the attachment at the narrower end.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
TRICHOMES: : hairs or hair-like outgrowths on the surface of the glume. They may be scabrous (stiff) or pubescent (soft).
CILIATE: fringed with hairs.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
SCABROUS: rough to the touch because of small, bristly, prickle-hairs.
HAIRY: with long soft hairs.
VESTIGIAL: rudimentary and almost completely reduced; with only a vestige remaining.
Caution. The callus may appear differentiated if hairs occur at the base of the lemma, but not on the callus.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
When the hairs are very curly, the lengths are only approximate.
LINEAR: resembling a line; long and narrow with more or less parallel sides.
OBLONG: two to four times longer than wide with nearly parallel sides.
OVATE: egg-shaped in outline and attached at the broad end.
LANCEOLATE: lance-shaped; much longer than wide, with the widest point below the middle.
ELLIPTIC: in the shape of an ellipse, or a narrow oval; broadest at the middle and narrower at the two equal ends.
OBOVATE: Inversely ovate, with the attachment at the narrow end.
OBLANCEOLATE: Inversely lanceolate, with the attachment at the narrower end.
KEEL: a raised or pronounced ridge, often V-shaped.
SHINY: similar to high gloss or semi-gloss paint.
DULL: surface reflection similar to that of flat paint.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
SPARSELY scabrous: with a sparse covering of minute prickle-hairs.
HAIRY: with longer hairs on surface.
TRICHOMES: hairs or hair-like outgrowths on the surface of the glume.
CAUDATE: with a tail-like appendage.
ACUMINATE: apex with sides somewhat concave, and which taper to an extended point.
ACUTE: apex formed by margins meeting at less than a 90 degree angle, sides more or less straight.
ROUNDED: a rounded apex.
TRUNCATE: with a flat apex.
Entire: not toothed, notched, or divided, as the continuous margins of some leaves.
EROSE: with the margin irregularly toothed, as if gnawed.
LACERATE: cut or cleft irregularly, as if torn.
BIFID: deeply two-cleft or two-lobed, usually from the tip.
CILIATE: fringed with hairs.
AWN: a substantial hair or bristle.
VESTIGIAL: rudimentary and almost completely reduced; with only a vestige remaining.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
SCABROUS: rough to the touch because of small, bristly, prickle-hairs.
HAIRY: with longer, more slender hairs.
LODICULE: Small scalelike processes usually two or three in number, at the base of the stamens in grass flowers.
SEPAL: an individual unit of the calyx; it is usually green and often hairy; in some plants the sepals are brightly coloured and assume the function of petals.
PAPPUS: peculiar modified calyx of a single floret, borne on the ovary (persisting in fruit), being plumose, bristlelike, and scales.
FREE: sepals independent of one another.
FUSED: sepals joined to one another, usually forming a tube (calyx).
SCARIOUS: a thin, dry, non-green membranous structure.
ACCRESCENT: expanding and growing larger after flowering; bigger in fruit, than in flower, eg. bladder campion.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
PUBERULENT: minutely short hairy or downy.
PUBESCENT: covered with short, fine hairs, downy.
PILOSE: bearing sparse, long, soft, straight, shaggy hairs.
VILLOUS: bearing dense or moderately dense, long, soft, shaggy, but not matted hairs.
TOMENTOSE: bearing short, dense, soft, wooly hairs, that are matted or tangled.
WOOLLY: bearing long, dense, soft hairs, that are tangled.
SILKY: straight, appressed, shiny hairs.
TUBULAR: shaped like a cylindrical tube.
BELL-SHAPED: a tube that is narrow at one end and flared out towards the other end.
BILABIATE: with two lips; each lip may be lobed or toothed.
FUNNEL-FORM: gradually widening from base to apex; funnel-shaped.
ROTATE: disc-shaped; flat and circular, with widely spreading lobes and little or no tube.
NOTE: If there only appears to be one perianth whorl in a flower it is usually considered to be the calyx.
LOBED: bearing lobes which are cut less than half way to the base or midvein.
DOUBLE PAPPUS: two distinct lengths of pappus filaments.
PAPPUS: peculiar modified calyx of a single floret, borne on the ovary (persisting in fruit), being plumose, bristlelike, and may have scales.
PAPPUS: peculiar modified calyx of a single floret, borne on the ovary (persisting in fruit), being plumose, bristlelike, and may have scales.
VERRUCAE: wart-like outgrowths.
FREE: not attached to other petals at the base.
FUSED: petals are joined at least at the base, but can be fused to the tip of the petal.
COROLLA: the collective name for all the petals; the inner perianth whorl.
OVATE: egg-shaped in outline and attached at the broad end.
OBOVATE: inversely ovate, with the attachment at the narrow end.
LANCEOLATE: lance-shaped; much longer than wide, with the widest point below the middle.
OBLANCEOLATE: inversely lanceolate, with the widest point above the middle.
SPATULATE: spoon-shaped, with a rounded blade above gradually tapering to the base.
LINEAR: resembling a line; long and narrow with more or less parallel sides.
OBTRIANGULAR: shaped like an inverted triangle.
LOBED: bearing lobes which are cut less than half way to the base or midvein.
COROLLA: the collective name for all the petals; the inner perianth whorl.
COROLLA: the collective name for all the petals; the inner perianth whorl.
SPURRED: bearing a spur or spurs (a hollow, slender, sac like appendage of a petal).
COROLLA: the collective name for all the petals; the inner perianth whorl.
TUBULAR: with the form of a tube or cylinder.
ROTATE: disc-shaped; flat and circular, with widely spreading lobes and little or no tube.
BILABIATE: two-lipped; each lip may be lobed or toothed.
CAMPANULATE: bell-shaped.
URCEOLATE: pitcher or vase-like; hollow and contracted near the mouth like a pitcher or urn.
BELL-SHAPED: a narrow tube and spreading lobes.
FUNNEL-FORM: gradually widening from base to apex; funnel-shaped
PAPILIONACEOUS: consisting of 5 petals with a banner petal (the uppermost one, with a fold along the middle), two wing petals, and two fused petals that form the keel.
LIGULATE: corolla of the ray florets tubular at the base, prolonged on the outer side into a flat, more or less strap-shaped organ that may appear as a single petal.
KEEL: part of the legume flower formed by and two fused petals.
AURICLES: Flaps at the base of the wing petals.
CLAW: Narrow basal part of wing petal.
BANNER: upper petal of papilionaceous flower with a fold in the middle.
KEEL: two lower petals join to form the keel.
LIMB: the expanding flat part of the corolla.
NOTE: In some flowers, the stamens are fused to the corolla (petals), while in others they are completely free from the petals.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
DEHISCENT: opening at maturity to release the pollen.
ELLIPSOID: football-shaped; a three dimensional structure that is elliptic in long section and circular in cross section.
CYLINDRICAL: cylinder-shaped, elongate and round in cross-section.
OVOID: egg-shaped.
SUBGLOBOSE: almost spherical in shape, like a ball.
TRIANGULAR:shaped like an equilateral or Isosceles triangle.
DEHISCENT: opening at maturity to release the pollen.
AXIS: the central line-like tissue of the anther.
NECTARY: a nectar secreting gland, often appearing as a protruberance, scale, or pit.
NECTARY: a nectar secreting gland, often appearing as a protruberance, scale, or pit.
NECTARY: a nectar secreting gland, often appearing as a protruberance, scale, or pit.
SLENDER-ROD: length of nectary 4 or more times width.
BROAD-ROD: length of nectary 4 or more times width.
SQUARE: about as long as wide.
OVATE: egg-shaped, broadest at the base, narrowed towards the tip.
HALF-CUP SHAPED: base of nectary curved around the stamens.
NECTARY: a nectar secreting gland, often appearing as a protruberance, scale, or pit.
NECTARY: a nectar secreting gland, often appearing as a protruberance, scale, or pit.
NECTARY: the organ which produces the nectar.
OVARY: the portion of the pistil that contains the ovules (immature seeds).
PISTIL: the female reproductive organ, comprised of ovary, style and stigma.
RACHIS: axis of the catkin, bearing the flowers.
STYLE: the usually elongated portion of the pistil between the stigma and the ovary. STIGMA: the part of the pistil which receives the pollen.
STIPE: the stalk of the pistil.
NECTARY: the organ which produces the nectar.
OVARY: the portion of the pistil that contains the ovules (immature seeds).
PISTIL: the female reproductive organ, comprised of ovary, style and stigma. STIGMA: the part of the pistil which receives the pollen.
STIPE: the stalk of the pistil.
RACHIS: axis of the catkin, bearing the flowers.
STYLE: the usually elongated portion of the pistil between the stigma and the ovary.
NECTARY: the organ which produces the nectar.
OVARY: the portion of the pistil that contains the ovules (immature seeds).
PISTIL: the female reproductive organ, comprised of ovary, style and stigma.
RACHIS: axis of the catkin, bearing the flowers.
SLENDER-ROD: length 4 or more times width.
BROAD-ROD: length 2–3 times width.
SQUARE: approximately as long as wide.
OVATE: egg-shaped in outline and attached at the broad end.
NECTARY: the organ which produces the nectar.
OVARY: the portion of the pistil that contains the ovules (immature seeds).
NECTARY: the organ which produces the nectar.
OVARY: the portion of the pistil that contains the ovules (immature seeds).
FLORAL BRACT: a reduced leaf or scale-like structure at the base of a flower.
NECTARY: the organ which produces the nectar.
OVARY: the portion of the pistil that contains the ovules (immature seeds).
PISTIL: the female reproductive organ, comprised of ovary, style and stigma.
RACHIS: axis of the catkin, bearing the flowers.
STYLE: the usually elongated portion of the pistil between the stigma and the ovary. STIGMA: the part of the pistil which receives the pollen.
STIPE: the stalk of the pistil.
MONOMEROUS: having a single carpel.
APOCARPOUS: having two or more carpels that are free from one another.
SYNCARPOUS: having two or more carpels that are fused.
NOTE: In order to determine the number of carpels it may be necessary to take a cross section of the flower and count the number of segments. Each segment usually is one carpel.
SUPERIOR (hypogynous): having the flower parts attached below the base of the ovary and free from it.
PARTLY INFERIOR (perigynous): having the flower parts attached to the edge of a cup shaped receptacle.
INFERIOR (epigynous): having the flower parts attached at or above the top of the ovary.
OVARY: the expanded basal portion of the pistil that contains the ovules (immature seeds).
OBCLAVATE: inverse club-shaped.
URCEOLATE: hollow and narrowed at the mouth like an urn or pitcher.
OBLONG: rectangular in outline.
ELLIPTIC: in the shape of an ellipse, or a narrow oval; broadest at the middle and narrower at the two equal ends. CLAVATE: club-shaped.
BEAK: narrowed unswollen portion of the ovary.
STYLE is the slender stalk that connects the stigma to the ovary.
STIGMA: the part of the pistil which receives the pollen.
PUBERULENT: minutely pubescent or downy.
PUBESCENT: covered with short, fine hairs, downy.
PILOSE: bearing sparse, long, soft, straight, shaggy hairs.
VILLOUS: bearing dense or moderately dense, long, soft, shaggy, but not matted hairs.
TOMENTOSE: bearing short, dense, soft, wooly hairs, that are matted or tangled.
SILKY: straight, appressed, shiny hairs.
STRIGOSE: covered with straight, stiff hairs or bristles.
SPARSE: surface mostly visible.
MODERATELY DENSE: surface about 50% visible.
DENSE: surface completely obscured.
APPRESSED: hair pressed close or flat against the branchlet.
SPREADING: hair standing out from the surface.
WAVY: in loosely spaced waves.
CRINKLED: in tightly spaced waves.
BRANCHED: hairs dividing irregularly.
STELLATE: hairs radiating like the points of a star.
FLATTENED: hair edges appear thickened, and hairs sometimes refract light.
RIBBON-LIKE: hair edges flat and refracting light.
STYLE: the narrowed portion of the pistil (gynoecium) connecting the stigma (top portion) to the ovary.
FREE: not attached to other styles.
PARTIALLY FUSED: one style appears to emerge from the ovary and then branched into two or more.
CYLINDRICAL: cylinder shaped, elongate and round in cross-section.
OVARY: the expanded basal portion of the pistil that contains the ovules.
OVULE: an immature seed.
LOCULE: a cavity containing the seed(s)in an ovary.
AXILE: ovules attached to the central axis of an ovary with two or more locules.
PARIETAL: ovules positioned along the walls of the ovary.
APICAL: ovules located at the tip of the ovary.
BASAL: ovules located at the base of the ovary.
FREE CENTRAL: ovules attached to a central column which is free from the ovule wall except at the base.
CARPEL: one of the leaf-like units that make up a compound pistil.
CAPSULE: a dry, dehiscent fruit composed of more than one carpel.
GLOBOSE: rounded like a ball.
SUB-LANCEOLATE longer than wide, relatively narrow and tapering to a point at the top.
BROADLY-OVATE: longer than wide, distinctly rounded with the widest point below the middle.
OBLONG: rectangular in outline.
OBOVATE: inversely ovate, with the attachment at the narrow end.
ELLIPTIC: in the shape of an ellipse, or a narrow oval; broadest at the middle and narrower at the two equal ends.
ASCENDING: within the range of angles between erect and divergent.
REFLEXED: bent back, and pointing downwards.
LEATHERY: leather-like.
DULL lacking a shine, similar to flat paint.
GLANDULAR: with small bulges that store or secrete fluids.
PAPILLOSE: with minute, nipple-shaped structures.
STRONGLY NERVED: with nerves clearly visible.
BIDENTATE: having two teeth.
CALYX: the collective term for all the sepals; the outer perianth whorl.
PAPPUS: peculiar modified calyx of a single floret, borne on the ovary (persisting in fruit), being plumose, bristlelike, and scales.
FOLLICLE: a dry, dehiscent (opening at maturity or when ripe) fruit, derived from one carpel, that splits along a single side.
LEGUME: a dry, dehiscent fruit derived from a one carpel and usually opening along two lines of dehiscence, as does a pea pod.
LOMENT: a pod constricted between the seeds, and breaking into 1-seeded portions.
CAPSULE: a dry, dehiscent fruit derived from more than one carpel and splitting into as many segments as there are carpels.
SILIQUE: a dry, dehiscent fruit, with two carpels separated by a septum as in the Draba family. Fruits split from the bottom upwards.
ACHENE: a small, dry, indehiscent one seeded fruit with tight thin pericarp.
NUT: a hard, dry, indehiscent fruit, the product of more than one carpel often with a single seed.
BERRY: a fleshy fruit, with several or many seeds, as a tomato.
DRUPE: a fleshy, indehiscent fruit with a stony endocarp surrounding the single seed, such as a peach.
AGGREGATE OF FLESHY DRUPELETS: very small drupes that maybe aggregated into a fleshy fruit such as a raspberry
SCHIZOCARP: a fruit that splits up without the opening of the carpel into one-seeded units (mericarps).
CARYOPSIS: the indehiscent fruit in grasses.
SAMARA: a winged 1-seeded indehiscent achene or nut.
NUTLET: one-seeded, dry, indehiscent fruit, the product of an apocarpous carpel.
MERICARP: a fruit composed of more than one schizocarp.
SPHERICAL: globe-shaped.
ELLIPSOID: In the shape of a narrow oval; broadest in the middle, and narrow at the two ends.
OVOID: egg-shaped.
ELONGATE-CYLINDRICAL: cylinder-shaped; elongate and round in cross section.
DISTINCTLY FLAT: compressed.
OBOVATE: inversely ovate, with the attachment at the narrow end.
OBLONG: rectangular in outline.
CLAVATE: club-shaped.
U: urn-shaped. rounded and wider at the base, tapering towards the apex.
DEHISCENT: opening at maturity or when ripe.
INDEHISCENT: not opening at maturity along definite lines or by pores.
SCHIZOCARPOUS: opening at maturity into separate one-seeded segments (carpels) at maturity, instead of along dehiscent lines, eg. maple seeds, umbels.
LENGTH OR HEIGHT: the distance between the point of attachment to the plant and the point of attachment of the style.
WIDTH: the greatest dimension at right angles to the line between the point of attachment to the plant and the point of attachment of the style.
FLESHY: thick and pulpy; succulent.
DRY: without water.
GLABROUS: without hairs.
GLABRESCENT initially hairy but becoming glabrous.
PAPILLAE: pimple like protuberances.
RIBBED: prominent veins causing ridges usually lengthwise.
STYLE: the narrowed portion of the pistil (gynoecium) connecting the stigma to the ovary.
CAUDUCOUS: the style falling early before the fruit is mature, or present and withered.
HOOKED: curved or with barbs that assist with animal dispersal.
PLUMOSE: feathery, or fluffy.
TRIGONOUS: a body triangular in cross section but with obtuse angles.
OBLONG: in the shape of a rectangle
SUBTERETE: approaching circular in cross section.
OVOID: egg-shaped.
OVATE: egg-shaped in outline and attached at the broad end.
SMOOTH: an even, glabrous surface.
SPINOSE: with spines, which are stiff, slender, sharp-pointed structures arising from below the epidermis.
VERRUCOSE: covered with small wart-like rounded processes that are wider than high.
RIDGED: with folds (ridges).
WINGED: possessing wing-like structures.
RETICULATE: with a network pattern.
TUBERCULATE: covered with small wart-like rounded processes that are higher than wide.
AMPHI-ATLANTIC: occurring on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
AMPHI-BERINGIAN: occurring on both sides of the Bering Sea.
NORTH AMERICAN: occurring in the Arctic region in North America, Greenland, or Iceland.
CALCAREOUS: limestone derived alkaline soil.
HALOPHYTICY: soil with high salt content.
NITROGENOUS: soil enriched with nitrogen; e.g. old dung pile.
NON-LITTORAL: preferring drier conditions, usually away from the coast.
A = anatomy
B = black and white drawing
E = environment or habitat
C = close up of plant
F = flower
I = inflorescence
L = leaf or leaves
M = map
P = plate, where more than one picture is combined into a plate
R = roots
S = herbarium specimen
T = type specimen
U = fruit
X = cimage graphic
Cite this publication as: S.G. Aiken, M.C. LeBlanc, and M.J. Dallwitz 2000 onwards. Pteridophytes of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval.’ Version: 23rd February 2001. http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/’. Dallwitz (1980), Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993, 1995, 2000) , and Aiken, Dallwitz et al. (1999) should also be cited (see References).