Copy of `Hcs.ohio state Master Gardener Glossary`

The wordlist doesn't exist anymore, or, the website doesn't exist anymore. On this page you can find a copy of the original information. The information may have been taken offline because it is outdated.

Hcs.ohio state Master Gardener Glossary Category: Animals and Nature > Gardening Date & country: 10/09/2007, USA Words: 315

Epiphyte
A plant that usually grows on another plant and gets its nutrients from the air and water.

Espalier
a plant trained to grow flat against a wall or trellis.

Established
the state of a plant when it is adjusted to the site and thriving.

Evergreen plants
plants that do not drop the current season's leaves at the end of the growing season.

Fallow
cultivated land that is allowed to lie idle for a growing season.

Fertilization
the application of nutrients for plant growth. The union of the egg and sperm.

Fertilizer burn
the browning and in extreme cases, killing of plants from exposure to excessive nitrogen.

Fibrous root
a root system where the roots are finely divided.

Field capacity
the amount of water soil can hold against the force of gravity.

Filament
the part of the stamen that holds the anther in position for pollen dispersal.

Fine fescues
a fine-leaved turfgrass that grows well in shade, low soil moisture, low fertility and low pH. It requires well-drained, slightly dry soils. Red, hard and chewing fescues are included in this group.

Floricanes
on raspberries and blackberries, two-year-old canes which bear fruit and then die.

Food chain
a sequence of organisms in a community in which each member of the chain feeds on the member below it, as in fox, rabbit and grass.

Force
manipulation of environmental factors to make a plant blossom out of season.

Frond
the leaf of a fern.

Frost pocket
a depression in the terrain into which cold air drains, but cannot escape.

Fruiting wood
on grapevine, the one-year-old canes that will produce the current year's fruit.

Fungi
saprophytic and parasitic organisms that lack chlorophyll and include molds, rusts, mildews, smuts, mushrooms and yeast; singular, fungus.

Gametophyte
the phase of a life cycle which has half the normal number of chromosomes.

Genus
groups of closely related species clearly defined from other plants.

Girdling
removing the bark from a woody stem to kill the plant. Encircling a stem with a material so that the cambium layer is destroyed, killing the plant.

Grafting
the joining of two separate structures, such as a root and a stem or two stems, so that by tissue regeneration they form a union and grow as one plant.

Green manure
an annual cover crop that is turned into the soil before it flowers.

Greensand
an organic source of potassium. About 7% potash plus 32 trace elements.

Grub
short, fat, worm-like larva, especially of beetles.

Guard cells
specialized crescent-shaped cells that control the opening and closing of a stomata.

Harden off
to acclimate a plant to harsher conditions.

Hardiness
the ability to withstand harsh environmental conditions.

Hardpan
a hard, compacted, often clayey layer of soil through which roots cannot grow.

Hardwood cutting
a mature, woody piece of a woody plant that is removed to asexually propagate a new individual plant.

Heave
the partial lifting of a plant out of the soil as a result of alternating freezing and thawing of the soil.

Heavy metals
the heavy metals of concern to gardeners are lead, zinc, nickel, arsenic, copper and cadmium. These metals can be toxic to plants when they accumulate to high levels in the soil.

Heeling in
covering the roots of dormant plants with soil or mulch for short periods.

Heirloom vegetables
cultivars that were popular a generation or more ago.

Herbaceous
a nonwoody plant.

Herbicide
an agent that stops plant growth or kills a plant.

Herbivore
a plant-eating animal.

Hill planting
grouping plants in a cluster, not necessarily on an elevated mound.

Holdfast
a part of a plant that clings to a flat surface.

Honeydew
a sugary substance secreted by aphids and other juice-sucking, plant-feeding insects.

Hotbed
a bed of soil enclosed by a structure with a top of glass, heated, often by manure, for forcing or raising seedlings.

Humidity
the amount of moisture in the air.

Humus
brown or black, partially decomposed plant or animal material that forms the organic portion of soil.

Hybrid
a first generation cross between two genetically diverse parents.

Hyphae
pl. of hypha; the threads making up the mycelium of a fungus.

Incomplete metamorphosis
gradual growth of an arthropod that involves change in size, but not form.

Incubation
the growth of a pathogen so that it can enter a host.

Indeterminate
growth that is potentially limitless.

Infection
the stage when a pathogen is growing in a host and causing damage.

Inoculant
a microorganism which is introduced into the soil to improve growth of legume crops.

Inoculation
the introduction of a pathogen to a host.

Inorganic
being or composed of matter other than plant and animal; often of mineral origin.

Instar
the stage in the life of an arthropod between molts.

Internode
the area on a stem between nodes.

Interplant
growing two different intermixed crops in an area to maximize space usage.

Interstem
an intermediate stem piece that is grafted between the scion and the stock.

Irrigation
to supply water by artificial means, such as with sprinklers.

Kentucky bluegrass
a cool-season turfgrass that spreads by rhizomes. It is the most popular species for high-quality lawns in Ohio. It is very winter hardy.

Landscape fabric
a loosely intertwined fabric that is placed over the soil as a mulch to reduce weed invasion.

Larva
a stage of insect complete metamorphosis between the egg and pupal stages. The feeding, growing, nonreproductive stage of insect development.

Latent bud
a dormant bud that is capable of growth and development.

Lateral bud
smaller buds on the sides of stems, responsible for growth of leaves and side branches.

Lath house
a structure consisting of a frame supporting strips of wood which are spaced to provide about 50% shade.

Layering
a method of propagation in which adventitious roots form before the new plant is severed from the parent plant.

Leach
to dissolve in water and wash away.

Leaf scorch
injury to leaves due to lack of sufficient water, excessive transpiration or injury to the water-conducting system of the plant.

Long-day plant
a plant that requires a night shorter than its critical dark period, usually 12 hours or less, to develop flowers.

Macronutrients
the nutrients needed in large amounts by plants: nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, calcium and sulfur.

Marginally hardy
close to the limit of hardiness that a plant can withstand. Planting plants that are marginally hardy is risky, because under the most severe conditions for that zone, the plant may not survive without extra protection.

Matted-row
a system of planting where plants are placed off center or are centered on a diagonal.

Meristem
a region of cell and tissue initiation; cells that do not mature, but remain capable of further growth and division.

Metamorphosis
the changes of form insects go through in their life cycle from egg to immature stages to adult.

Microbe
also microorganism; an organism of microscopic size.

Microclimate
the local climate of a small site or habitat.

Micronutrients
the nutrients needed in small amounts by plants: iron, manganese, zinc, copper, molybdenum, boron and chlorine.

Miticide
a pesticide that kills mites.

Mollusk
invertebrate animals with soft, unsegmented bodies, such as clams and snails, usually enclosed in a calcium shell.

Molt
to shed the exoskeleton to accommodate growth.

Monocot
or monocotyledon, flowering plants that have embryos with only one cotyledon.

Monoecious
plants that have both male and female flowers on the same plant.

Moss
small, leafy plants that do not produce flowers or seeds. They grow in moist, shaded areas where fertility is low.

Mycoplasma
disease-causing agents similar to viruses.

Natural
occurring in nature.

Nematodes
microscopic, elongated, cylindrical, parasitic worms that live in water and soil.

Node
the location on a stem where buds form.

Nodules
swellings on the roots of legumes where nitrogen-fixing bacteria live.

Nonselective pesticide
a poison that kills a wide variety of pest species.

Nutrients
substances a plant takes in and uses as food for growth and development.

Nymph
a stage or series of size changes between egg and adult in the life cycle of insects that go through incomplete or simple metamorphosis.

Organic
of plant or animal origin.

Ovary
the swollen bottom part of the pistil that contains the ovules or immature seeds.

Oxygen, O2,
a colorless, tasteless, odorless gas that is 1/5 of the volume of the atmosphere.

Parasitic
an organism that lives on or in another living organism (the host) and obtains nutrition from the host.

Pathogen
a disease-causing organism.

Pelletized
the coating and forming into pellets of very small seed so they are easier to handle.

Penetration
the point at which a pathogen enters a host.

Perennial ryegrass
a cool-season turfgrass with seeds that germinate quickly. The cultural requirements are similar to those of Kentucky bluegrass; however, it is not quite as hardy or disease resistant as bluegrasses.

Perennials
plants that do not die after flowering, but live from year to year.

Petals
a whorl of structures that surround the inner reproductive organs of a flower. Together they are called the corolla. They often attract insects by color or nectar, facilitating pollination.

Pheromone
a chemical substance that convey information to and produce specific responses in certain animals.