Flora of North America Glossary
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| Term | Synonyms | Category | Limitation | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| male cone | = microstrobilus | STRUCTURE | A cone (strobilus) whose fertile organs are all microsporophylls. | |
| mamilla pl. mamillae | STRUCTURE | A nipple- or teat-shaped protrusion. | ||
| mamillate | relief | Bearing mamillae. | ||
| mamma pl. mammae | STRUCTURE | A rounded-conoidal protrusion, resembling the breast of a mammal. | ||
| mammiform | = breast-shaped | solid shape | Rounded conic, like the breast of a mammal. | |
| mammose | solid shape | Having mammae. | ||
| manifestation | CHARACTER | Degree or nature of evidence when present within the context in point. | ||
| many-… | = multi…, pluri…, poly… | prefix | Indicating presence of or constitution by a relatively large number of entities of the type denoted by the term's stem; as in many-angled, many-pistilled, many-seeded. See also few-… (oligo…). | |
| many-stemmed | = multicipital | architecture | plant | Having many, more or less equal, principal stems arising at substrate level from a caudex or root crown. |
| marcescent | duration | structure | Persistent in a distinctly withered condition. | |
| margin | CHARACTER | Configuration of all or part of the periphery of a planate structure, sometimes referred to as though it were discrete and an entity in its own right for descriptive purposes. The extent of the area considered to pertain to the margin in a given case is, of necessity, subjectively determined. As a general rule, peripheral concavities that do not exceed 1/5 the distance from the generalized edge to the center or main axis of the structure are considered components of marginal configuration, deeper concavities being considered components of overall shape. The margin is sometimes considered to be only the infinitely thin boundary itself, and such a definition is probably the one most technically correct from the standpoint of geometry and general usage. However, it is inconsistent with traditional usage in descriptive botany, which treats the margin as an entity of substance both semantically and conceptually. The semantic antecedent of some descriptors is "margin," whereas the antecedent of others is the structure as a whole (e.g., leaf). | ||
| marginal | insertion | Upon or otherwise directly associated with the margins. | ||
| marginal | position | Upon or otherwise directly associated with the margins. | ||
| masculine | = male | reproduction | Of the sex that produces microspores and sperm. | |
| massula pl. massulae | STRUCTURE | A body of coherent pollen grains, dispersed as a unit; esp. in Asclepiadaceae, Orchidaceae. | ||
| matted | habit | plants | Growing in extensive, low, dense aggregations, sometimes with the stems of different plants intertwined. | |
| maturation | CHARACTER | Timing of the attainment of functional maturity, sometimes relative to other structures, sometimes as to constituent structures relative to each other. | ||
| mealy 1 | = farinaceous; < crumbling, fatiscent | texture | Of or bearing minute, relatively stout trichomes that are collectively meal- or flour-like and easily detached. | |
| mealy 2 | > farinaceous, farinose | pubescence | Loose, dry, and disintegrating in finely granular pieces like meal or flour. | |
| medial | = central, median | insertion | At, upon, or closely ranged about the structural or symmetrical midpoint or axis. | |
| medial | = central, median | position | At, upon, or closely ranged about the structural or symmetrical midpoint or axis. | |
| median | = central, medial | insertion | At, upon, or closely ranged about the structural or symmetrical midpoint or axis. | |
| median | = central, medial | position | At, upon, or closely ranged about the structural or symmetrical midpoint or axis. | |
| medullose | = pithy | texture | Loose or spongy internally, denser and firmer externally. | |
| megagametophyte | > embryo sac | PLANT | A gametophyte whose fertile organs (gametangia) are all archegonia. |
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