Flora of North America Glossary

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Term Synonyms Category Limitation Definition
…serrate = …-sawtoothed margin Having the number of orders of sawteeth indicated by the prefix, one upon another; as in biserrate. See also …crenate (…-scalloped), …dentate (…-toothed).
serrate = sawtoothed margin Having regularly spaced, angular convexities oriented at an acute angle to the generalized perimeter. See also crenate (scalloped), crenulate (small-scalloped), dentate (toothed), denticulate (small-toothed), serrulate (small-sawtoothed).
serrulate = small-sawtoothed margin Finely serrate (sawtoothed). See also crentate (scalloped), crenulate (small-scalloped), dentate (toothed), denticulate (small-toothed).
sessile = exstipitate, stalkless, unstalked architecture structure Lacking a stalk, thus inserted ("sitting") directly upon the bearing structure.
seta 1 pl. setae = arista, awn, bristle STRUCTURE A slender, more or less straight and stiff, fine-pointed, terminal or subterminal appendage or prolongation, sometimes a continuation of the bearing structure's central primary vein, as on a glume, lemma, or palea in Poaceae (Gramineae).
seta 2 pl. setae = bristle; > glochid, glochidium STRUCTURE A trichome that is elongate, slender, more or less straight, terete, fine-pointed, and stiff.
setaceous = bristle-shaped, setiform solid shape Elongate, slender, terete, straight, terminating in a fine point, and apparently stiff; like a bristle.
setiform = bristle-shaped, setaceous solid shape Elongate, slender, terete, straight, terminating in a fine point, and apparently stiff; like a bristle.
setose = hispid; < bristly pubescence Bearing relatively long and slender, more or less straight, terete, fine-pointed, stiff trichomes. See also setulose (hispidulous, small-bristly).
setulose = hispidulous, small-bristly pubescence Finely setose (hispid).
seven-… = hepta… prefix Indicating presence of or constitution by seven entities of the type denoted by the term's stem; as in seven-leafleted, seven-loculed, seven-winged.
shaggy = villose, villous pubescence Bearing sparse, long, slender, soft, capillate trichomes that are not intertwined. See also villosulous.
sharp = acute apex Acutely angular; regularly and more or less straightly attenuate to an angular tip, the sides intersecting at an angle of less than 90°.
sheathed = vaginate architecture structure Closely enclosed over some or all of its length by a terete or involute structure.
sheathing 1 architecture foliaceous structure Differentiated into distinct proximal and distal portions, the former terete or involute and closely enclosing the bearing axis above the point of insertion.
sheathing 2 base laminar structure Terete or involute and closely enclosing the supporting axis for some distance above the point of insertion.
sheath (leaf) STRUCTURE The lower (basal or proximal), fundamentally laminar but strongly involute portion of one of the non-petiolate leaves characteristic of most monocotyledons (Liliidae); distinct from the leaf blade, which, when present, is borne distally upon it; analogous, though not necessarily homologous, with a petiole; usually more or less completely enclosing a portion of the stem above the node from which the leaf is borne.
shining = glossy, laevigate, lustrous, polished, shiny reflectance Uniformly reflecting a high proportion of incident light at all angles.
shiny = glossy, laevigate, lustrous, polished, shining reflectance Uniformly reflecting a high proportion of incident light at all angles.
shoot 1 STRUCTURE Collectively, all those portions of a plant body that are anatomically distinct from the root, the component axes differentiated into nodes and internodes, and branching exogenously from the former.
shoot 2 STRUCTURE A vascularized axis that is differentiated into nodes and internodes and that branches exogenously from the former, together with any non-axial structures borne from it.
short-shoot = spur STRUCTURE A first- or higher-order woody stem branch having relatively unelongated internodes, thus proximate nodes, and limited duration of growth, usually branching little if at all; often a main locus of flower production; usually more or less perpendicular to the axis that bears it and resembling a spur projecting from it; sometimes becoming more or less spinose after elongation ceases; esp. in Rosaceae.
showy < conspicuous manifestation Prominently evident and attractive due to size, shape and/or coloration.
shrub = frutex; > bush nominative plant Perennial, woody, relatively short, with a single main stem that is not distinctly columnar and branches from or above ground level, the branches often crowded. See also subshrub (suffrutex, undershrub), tree, woody clump.
shrubby > bushy, frutescent, fruticose habit plant Having or developing the character of a shrub. See also arboreous, arborescent, subshrubby, suffrutescent, suffruticose, tree-like, woody-clumping.
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