Copy of `NGA - Gardening terms`

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NGA - Gardening terms Category: Food and Drink > Fruit and veg Date & country: 31/07/2014, USA Words: 191

zygote
The cell created by the union of egg and sperm; divides to become the embryo.

F1 or first filial generation
The offspring resulting from a cross between two pure parent lines.

F2 or second filial generation
The offspring resulting from cross- or self-pollination of the F1 generation.

xylem
The water-conducting tissues of plants; part of the vascular system.

vernalization
The promotion of flowering due to exposure to low temperatures, or chilling.

vascular tissues
Food- or water-conducting tissues.

turgor pressure
The pressure within a plant cell; maintained by osmosis.

variegated
Describes leaves or petals exhibiting an irregular, inherited pattern of color.

variety
A population within a species that differs from other members of the species in some significant way. Written in italics after the species name.

vascular cambium
A type of lateral meristem that gives rise to new xylem (wood) and phloem (inner bark).

tuberous stem
Swollen section on underground portion of main stem, used for food storage and asexual propagation.

tuberous root
Enlarged secondary root, used for food storage and asexual propagation.

tuber
Swollen tip of an underground stem, used for food storage and asexual propagation.

tube cell
One of two cells that make up a pollen grain; upon successful pollination, it germinates and grows into the pollen tube.

transpiration
The loss of water vapor from a plant; most of this water escapes from open stomata.

triploid
Describes a plant cell in which the chromosomes occur in three

transgenic
Organisms created using genetic engineering

symbiosis
Relationship of two or more organisms living in close association.

taproot system
A root system consisting of one or more prominent, swollen roots with few side roots; often a food-storage structure.

thigmotropism
The reaction of a plant in response to physical contact.

tissue culture
Propagation method that produces many plants from one or a few initial cells. Must be done under sterile, controlled conditions.

trait
An inherited physical or physiological characteristic.

sucker
Shoot arising from adventitious bud on underground root; sometimes used to describe any shoots arising at the base of a plant.

stomata
Tiny pores in the epidermal cells of leaves and stems; most numerous on the undersides of leaves. (Singular: stoma or stomate. Plural: stomata or stomates)

stipule
Small, leaf-like outgrowth found at the base of a leaf stalk.

stolon
Horizontal creeping aboveground stem; sprouts new plants at nodes.

stem
The leaf- and flower-bearing part of a plant.

specificity
The degree to which two organisms must be compatible before a relationship will form.

spongy cells
A layer of loosely-packed cells located beneath the palisade cells of a leaf. The spaces between the cells allow for the exchange of gases necessary for photosynthesis.

spore
The product of meiosis in plants; germinates to form the gametophyte generation.

sporophyte generation
The phase of growth in which spores are formed.

starch
A carbohydrate composed of several hundred glucose units; the chief food storage substance in plants.

seta
In mosses, the tall, stem-like structures on which spore capsules are borne

sexual reproduction
The creation of offspring from the union of egg and sperm

shoot system
The above-ground portion of a plant, consisting of the stem and leaves.

short-day
Describes plants that initiate flowers when day length is shorter than their critical day length.

somatic cells
Diploid cells that make up the bulk of the plant body; all cells in a plant that are not reproductive cells.

secondary wall
A second layer of cell wall laid down by the protoplast inside the primary wall.

seed
The fertilized and matured ovule of a flowering plant, containing an embryonic plant, and which, on being placed under favorable circumstances, develops into an individual similar to the one that produced it.

seed coat
The hard, protective coating covering a seed.

seedless plants
A category of evolutionarily primitive plants that do not form seeds. Includes mosses and ferns.

roots
The plant part generally found underground; responsible for anchoring the plant as well as water and nutrient uptake.

saprophyte
An organism that fills its nutritional needs from dead and decaying organic matter.

secondary growth
Growth arising from cell division and elongation in the regions of lateral meristems.

rhizome
Horizontal underground stem; may be fleshy or not. Used for food storage and asexual propagation.

protein
A category of organic macromolecules composed of many amino acids chemically bound together.

recessive trait
A characteristic whose expression is masked by the presence of the comparable dominant gene; this characteristic will be expressed only if both genes are recessive.

reproductive cells
Haploid cells (egg and sperm), the fusion of which results in the creation of a new organism. Also called gametes or sex cells.

respiration
The process of breaking chemical bonds in carbohydrates to release the energy necessary to perform metabolic functions.

primary growth
Growth arising from cell division and elongation in the regions of apical meristems.

primary wall
The initial layer of a plant cell wall.

pollinator
Any organism responsible for transferring pollen to stigma of flowers, including bees and other insects, small rodents, and bats. Many plants require a specific pollinator.

polysaccharide
A carbohydrate composed of many monosaccharide units bound together in a long chain; examples include cellulose and starch.

pollen tube
A long, hollow tube formed by the pollen grain

plant growth regulators
Chemical messengers within the plant body that control growth.

plastids
Structures found in plant cells; often contain pigments.

phytochrome
A light-sensitive protein pigment involved in the photoperiodic response.

photoperiodism
The initiation of flowering based on the relative amounts of darkness and light in a 24-hour period.

photosynthesis
The process by which plants use light energy to manufacture sugars.

phototropism
The bending of a plant organ in response to light.

parasite
An organism that derives some or all its nutrients from another organism.

pectin
A gluey substance found in the middle lamella between adjoining cell walls that cements the adjoining cells together.

perennial
Describes a plant that lives for more than two years; commonly used to describe herbaceous (non-woody) plants.

petiole
The stalk or support that attaches the blade of a leaf to the stem.

phloem
The food-conducting tissues of plants; part of the vascular system.

palisade cells
A layer of closely-packed, elongated cells located just beneath the upper epidermis of a leaf. These cells contain chloroplasts, and are the main sites of photosynthesis.

osmosis
The movement of water across a differentially permeable membrane, from a place where water concentration is higher to one where the concentration is lower.

ovary
A female reproductive structure, containing ovules, usually found at the basal portion of the flower. After pollination, the ovary matures into a fruit; the ovules develop into seeds.

ovule
A female reproductive structure which, upon fertilization, develops into a seed.

organic
Refers to substances containing carbon; pertaining to living organisms.

nitrogen fixation
A process in which a type of soil-dwelling bacteria, in association with the roots of certain plants (such as legumes), convert nitrogen in the air into a form that plants can use.

nodes
Sites on a stem where the leaves and axillary buds are attached.

nucleus
A structure within a plant cell; controls cell functions, including inheritance.

order
A group of families sharing similar characteristics

monosaccharide
A simple sugar made up of a chain or ring of carbon atoms to which hydrogen and oxygen atoms are attached.

mutation
A random genetic variation that is passed on to offspring.

nastic movement
Movement of plant parts not associated with a specific stimulus such as light or gravity.

natural selection
A process by which the healthiest, strongest, and most well-adapted organisms flourish and reproduce

monoecious
Describes plants with separate male and female flowers.

mitosis
Cell division that results in two daughter cells that are genetically identical to the parent cell.

molecule
The smallest unit of a compound; consists of two or more different atoms in a specific ratio and configuration, held together with chemical bonds.

monocot
A class of angiosperms in which the seeds

microfibril
A structure made up of several cellulose molecules united into a thread-like strand

micronutrients
The mineral nutrients that plants require in relatively small quantities includes magnesium, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, and boron.

microspore
Haploid cells formed by meiosis in plants; divide by mitosis to form pollen

middle lamella
A pectin-rich layer between adjoining plant cell walls, cementing them together.

mesophyll
The tissue sandwiched between the epidermal layers of a leaf; containing both the palisade cells and the spongy cells.

meiosis
Cell division that results in four haploid daughter cells.

meristem
A region of actively-dividing cells.

megaspore
Haploid cells formed by meiosis in plants; divide by mitosis to form several daughter cells, one of which functions as the egg cell.

lignin
An important constituent of many secondary cell walls that increases the cell wall

lipid
A category of organic macromolecules including fats and oils.

long-day
Describes plants that initiate flowers when day length is longer than their critical day length.

macromolecules
Relatively large molecules made up of smaller molecules bound together with chemical bonds.

macronutrients
The mineral nutrients that plants require in relatively large quantities; includes carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.

light reaction
The first step in the process of photosynthesis, which begins when the chlorophyll molecule absorbs a photon; light is required.

light quality
An analysis of the color, or wavelengths, of light from a given source.

light intensity
A measure of the brightness of light reaching a surface. Light intensity decreases as the distance from the source of the light increases.

light duration
A measure of the amount of time a source of light is illuminated; usually represented by the number of hours of light in a 24-hour period.

layering
Propagation method that induces rooting while daughter plant is still attached to parent plant.