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

Phloem
the part of the vascular system that moves food through the plant.

Photoperiodism
responses of plants to the relative lengths of light and dark cycles.

Photosynthesis
the production of sugar from carbon dioxide and water in the presence of chlorophyll, activated by light energy and releasing oxygen.

Phototropism
the bending of a plant toward the direction of more intense light.

Pinch
breaking off the terminal growing point of a plant to encourage axillary buds to grow.

Pistil
the female part of the flower, consisting of one or more carpels and enclosed ovules.

Pollard
a tree cut back to the trunk to make a dense cluster of branches and foliage.

Pollen
the microspores that carry the male gametophyte of seed plants.

Pollination
the transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma.

Pollinator
an insect or other vehicle by which pollen is carried from one flower to another. A plant that provides pollen for a self-infertile plant.

Post-emergent herbicide
a pesticide that kills plants after they have grown to seedling stage or beyond.

Potpourri
a mixture of dried flower petals with herbs and spices used for its fragrance.

Potting medium
material used for growing plants in containers. Mixes may include vermiculite, perlite, sand, peat, charcoal, loam and fertilizer.

Pre-emergent herbicide
a pesticide that kills plants as they germinate.

Primocanes
on raspberries and blackberries, new, first-year canes.

Procumbent
having stems that trail along the surface.

Propagation
to increase the number of plants by sexual or asexual meansProtozoans

Prune
to cut back parts of plants for better shape, disease control or improved fruiting.

Pupa
a stage in complete metamorphosis when an insect transforms from the larval to adult stage of development.

Raised bed
a gardening area where the soil has been elevated above ground level. This gardening technique is especially used where soil drainage is poor. Beds can be raised in a structure of wood, brick, cement blocks, etc.

Rasping
mouthparts that are rough and used to scrape a surface to feed.

Reel mower
a mower with multiple blades mounted on a cylinder. The blades cut against a bar. It makes precise cuts and is ideal for lower mowing heights. The blades require professional sharpening. These mowers are safer to use than rotary mowers.

Renewal spur
on grapevines, the cane pruned to one or two nodes on the cordon; becomes the fruiting cane the following year.

Renovation
removing an old planting and putting in a new one or removing and replacing only part of a planting. In strawberry culture, this process involves removing the leaves of the plants and cultivating the aisle to reduce the width of the row of plants to no more than 15 inches.

Respiration
the process where food is oxidized (burned) to release energy.

Rhizome
an underground, horizontal stem.

Root
the portion of the plant usually found below ground. They are distinguished from stems by not having nodes.

Root girdling
encircling roots at or below the surface of the ground that tend to strangle the plant.

Root hairs
tubular outgrowths of surface cells of the root.

Root prune
to cut back the roots of a plant to encourage them to develop more fibrous roots or to reduce the mass of roots. Usually done before transplanting established plants or repotting houseplants.

Rooting hormone
a chemical that stimulates the growth of roots.

Rootstock
the root onto which a scion or bud is grafted or budded.

Rotary mower
a mower with a blade that spins in a horizontal plane from a central rod. Its advantages are the ability to cut tall grass, versatility of movement, a less expensive purchase price and blades that can be easily sharpened.

Row cover fabric
a loosely woven translucent fabric used to keep insect pests off crops. It also functions as a cloche.

Saprophyte
an organism that obtains nutrition from dead organic matter.

Scarification
the physical or chemical treatment given to some seeds in order to weaken the seed coat sufficiently for germination to occur.

Scion
the upper part of the union of a graft.

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

Seed
the organ that forms after fertilization occurs.

Selective herbicide
a pesticide that kills only one type of plant, for example broadleaf herbicides only kill broadleaf weeds, not turfgrasses.

Self-cleaning
herbaceous plants that drop spent blossoms, thus not requiring deadheading.

Sepals
structures that usually form the outermost whorl of a flower. Together, they are called the calyx.

Sewage sludge
the solid matter that settles out during the treatment of sewage.

Sexual reproduction
production of new generations involving the exchange of chromosomes from both a male and female parent.

Sharp sand
a coarse sand used in building.

Short-day plant
a plant that requires a night longer than its critical dark period, usually 12 hours or more, to develop flowers.

Side-dress
to apply fertilizer to the side of a row of growing plants or around single plants.

Slice seed
a technique used to sow seed. A machine cuts or slices grooves into the lawn or soil and drops seeds directly into the grooves. It is used to fill in a thinning lawn without disturbing the existing grass excessively.

Soaker hose
a porous tube that allows water to seep from it; used to irrigate plants. It is used to conserve water and to avoid wetting plant foliage.

Softwood cutting
a nonwoody piece of a woody plant that is cut from the stock plant to asexually propagate a new individual plant.

Soil conditioner
any material added to soil to improve its structure, texture, tilth or drainage.

Soilless mix
potting medium that contain a mixture of ingredients from the materials listed for potting medium, but no mineral soil.

Soluble salt
salts from fertilizers and tap water that are dissolved in water.

Solvent
a liquid that can dissolve a substance.

Species
a group of closely related individuals that have the potential to reproduce with each other; a unit of classification.

Specific epithet
the second name of the binomial given to a species; for instance, 'rubrum' is the species epithet of Acer rubrum.

Spines
a sharp-pointed woody structure, usually a modified leaf or leaf part.

Spore
a minute reproductive body produced by primitive organisms, such as ferns and fungi.

Sporophyte
the part of a life cycle when the full complement of chromosomes are present.

Spreader-sticker
substances added to pesticides to make them spread over and stick to a surface more readily.

Spur
on grapevines, canes pruned to 1 to 4 nodes.

Square-foot gardening
a system of gardening developed by Mel Bartholomew that uses 4 foot by 4 foot plots subdivided into 1-foot squares for growing a specific number of a particular type of vegetable to maximize space and facilitate ease of maintenance.

Stake
a piece of pointed wood or metal that is driven into the ground to support a plant.

Stamen
the male part of the flower. It consists of the anther and the slender filament that holds it in position.

State specialists
professors at landgrant universities who provide expertise for Extension workers.

Stem
the main trunk of a plant. It develops buds and shoots.

Stigma
the part of the pistil that receives the pollen grains; usually the top of the pistil.

Stock plant
a plant used as a source for cuttings.

Stomata
an opening or pore in leaves that is surrounded by guard cells.

Strain
a subgroup of a species; the descendants of a common ancestor.

Stratification
storing of seeds at low temperatures under moist conditions in order to break dormancy.

Style
the slender part of a pistil between the stigma and the ovary.

Succession planting
planting portions of a crop over a period of time to get a continuous harvest over a long period of time.

Succulent
having tender, new growth or thick, fleshy tissues which store water, such as cactus.

Sucker
a shoot arising from the root or lower part of the stem of a plant.

Sunscald
plant injury caused by exposure to bright sunlight, excessive heat and/or wind.

Susceptible host
an organism that can be infected by a pathogen.

Symbiotic
a relationship in which two or more dissimilar organisms live together in close association.

Symptom
evidence of disease or damage.

Synthetic
substances produced by chemical or biochemical means.

Systemic
a group of pesticides that are absorbed into the tissues of plants, thereby poisoning the organisms that feed on the plant.

Tall fescue
a coarse, clump-forming turfgrass that tolerates low fertility, heavy wear, heat and drought and has good insect and disease tolerance. Young seedlings are not cold tolerant, but mature plants survive most Ohio winters.

Taproot
a stout, tapering primary root that has limited side branching or fine roots.

Temperate
moderate; the zones between the tropics and the polar regions of the earth.

Tendril
a slender, coiling modified leaf or leaf part. These help plants climb.

Tepee
a tripod of stakes used to support climbing plants.

Terminal bud
large, vigorous buds at the tips of stems.

Terrace
a series of flat platforms of soil on the side of a hill, rising one above the other.

Thatch
an intertwined layer of dead and living roots, stems and blades of grass plants. It holds water, pesticides and fertilizer like a sponge, preventing them from reaching the roots.

Thorax
the middle of the three major divisions of the arthropod body.

Topiary
training, cutting and trimming of plants into ornamental shapes.

Topsoil
uppermost layer of soil, usually darker and richer than the subsoil.

Toxicity
intensity of a poison.

Transpiration
the loss of water from plant tissues in the form of vapor.

Transplanting
digging up a growing plant from one location to plant it in another location.

Trellis
a frame of latticework used as a support for climbing plants.

Tropical
regions of the earth lying between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn extending around the equator where the temperature and humidity are high.

Trunk
the main stem of a tree, shrub or vine.

Tuber
an enlarged, underground stem that stores food.

Turgid
the condition of a cell, tissue or plant when it is filled with water so that it is firm; not wilted.