A
- Adventitious: Growth from unusual points on a plant, like roots from stems.
- Aeration: Introducing air into the soil, important for root health.
- Agamospermy: Asexual reproduction through seeds.
- Air Layering: Propagating by inducing roots while the cutting is still attached to the parent plant.
- Allogamy: Cross-fertilization between different plants.
- Apical Dominance: The tendency of an apical bud to inhibit the growth of lateral buds.
- Apomixis: Asexual reproduction without fertilization.
- Auxins: Plant hormones promoting root initiation in cuttings.
- Axillary Bud: A bud that forms at the node of a plant stem.
B
- Biennial: Plants that complete their lifecycle in two years.
- Biofumigation: Using biodegradable materials to suppress soil-borne pests and diseases.
- Broadcast Seeding: Scattering seeds over a broad area.
- Bulb: An underground storage organ typically used for vegetative reproduction.
C
- Callus: A mass of undifferentiated cells formed in tissue culture or at cut surfaces of plant cuttings.
- Cambium: A layer of actively dividing cells between xylem and phloem.
- Chimeras: Plants with two or more genetically different types of tissues.
- Clonal Propagation: Reproducing plants asexually to create clones.
- Clone: A genetically identical plant produced asexually from a single ancestor.
- Cold Stratification: Chilling seeds to simulate winter conditions before germination.
- Corm: A short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem serving as a storage organ.
- Cotyledon: The first leaf or pair of leaves produced by the embryo of a seed plant.
- Cutting: A plant segment taken from a parent plant to form a new plant.
D
- Damping Off: A fungal disease that kills seedlings shortly after they emerge.
- Deciduous: Plants that shed their leaves annually.
- Division: Splitting a plant into parts to create new plants.
- Dormancy: A period when a plant’s growth and physical activity are temporarily stopped.
E
- Embryo Culture: Growing embryos in vitro to develop into new plants.
- Epigeal Germination: When a seed’s cotyledons emerge above the ground.
- Evergreen: Plants that retain their leaves year-round.
F
- F1 Hybrid: First generation offspring from genetically distinct parents.
- Fertilization: Fusion of male and female gametes to form a new plant.
- Foliar Feeding: Applying liquid fertilizer directly to plant leaves.
- Fungicide: A chemical compound used to kill or inhibit fungi.
G
- Gametophyte: The sexual phase in the life cycle of plants.
- Genotype: The genetic constitution of a plant.
- Germination: The process by which a plant grows from a seed.
- Grafting: Joining parts from two plants so they grow as one plant.
- Growth Medium: The material in which plants are grown (soil, hydroponic solution, etc.).
H
- Hardening Off: Gradually acclimating a plant to outdoor conditions.
- Heirloom Plant: An old cultivar that is maintained by gardeners and farmers.
- Herbaceous: Plants with soft, non-woody stems.
- Humus: Organic component of soil formed by the decomposition of leaves and other plant material.
I
- In Vitro: Growing plants in a controlled environment, like a test tube.
- In Vivo: Growing plants in their natural environment.
- Indehiscent: Seed pods or fruits that don’t naturally open to release seeds.
- Internode: The segment of a plant stem between two nodes.
J
- Juvenility: The phase in a plant’s life cycle when it is immature and cannot flower.
K
- Karyotype: The number and appearance of chromosomes in the nucleus of a plant cell.
L
- Layering: Propagating plants by encouraging roots to form on a stem while it’s still attached to the parent plant.
- Leaf Cutting: A method of plant propagation using only a leaf or part of a leaf.
- Leggy: Excessively tall and spindly plant growth, usually due to insufficient light.
M
- Meristem: Regions of undifferentiated cells in plants that can differentiate into various tissues.
- Micropropagation: Propagation of plants by growing plant tissues or cells in an artificial medium.
- Monocot: A type of flowering plant with one embryonic seed leaf or cotyledon.
- Mycorrhizae: Symbiotic relationships between fungal hyphae and plant roots.
N
- Node: The part of a plant stem where leaves are attached.
- Nurse Crop: A fast-growing crop used to protect slower-growing plants.
O
- Organogenesis: The formation of organs (like roots or leaves) in tissue culture.
- Osmocote: A brand of slow-release fertilizer.
P
- Parthenocarpy: The development of fruit without fertilization.
- Perennial: A plant that lives for more than two years.
- Petal: A modified leaf of a flowering plant, often colorful.
- pH: Measure of the acidity or alkalinity of soil.
- Photoperiod: The length of day and night that affects plant growth.
- Phytotoxicity: Damage caused by a chemical to a plant.
- Pistil: The female reproductive part of a flower.
- Plumule: The part of a seed embryo that develops into the shoot bearing the first true leaves.
- Polarity: Having a difference in growth or structure between the top and bottom of an organism, like in a cutting.
- Pollination: The transfer of pollen from a male to a female part of a plant.
- Pomology: The science of growing fruit.
- Propagation Mat: A heated mat used to encourage seed germination and cutting rooting.
Q
- Quiescence: A state in which seeds are dormant but can germinate when conditions are right.
R
- Radicle: The part of a plant embryo that develops into the primary root.
- Rhizome: A horizontal underground plant stem capable of producing the shoot and root systems of a new plant.
- Rootstock: The root portion of a plant onto which the top or scion is grafted.
- Runner: A slender stem that grows horizontally and produces new plants at its tips or nodes.
S
- Scion: A piece of a plant that is grafted onto the rootstock of another plant.
- Seed Coat: The outer covering of a seed.
- Seedling: A young plant, especially one raised from seed and not from a cutting.
- Self-Pollination: When pollen from a flower pollinates the same flower or another flower on the same plant.
- Semi-Hardwood Cutting: A cutting taken from the current year’s growth that is partially mature.
- Somatic Embryogenesis: A process where a new plant is developed from a single cell or group of cells that are not gametes.
- Sporophyte: The asexual and usually diploid phase, producing spores from which the gametophyte arises.
- Stamen: The male reproductive organ of a flower.
- Stigma: The part of the pistil where pollen germinates.
- Stratification: The process of treating seeds to simulate natural conditions that the seeds require before germination.
- Sucker: A shoot springing from the base of a tree or other plant.
T
- Taproot: The main root descending downward from the radicle and giving off small lateral roots.
- Tissue Culture: A technique for growing plants or plant cells in an artificial medium.
- Transpiration: The process by which moisture is carried through plants from roots to small pores on the underside of leaves, where it changes to vapor and is released to the atmosphere.
- Tuber: A thickened underground part of a stem or rhizome, e.g., in the potato, serving as a food reserve and bearing buds from which new plants arise.
U
- Umbel: A cluster of flowers with short flower stalks that spread from a common point, characteristic of the parsley family.
V
- Variety: A naturally occurring or traditionally bred subdivision of a plant species with a distinct form or character.
- Vegetative Propagation: Reproduction of plants by means other than seeds.
- Vermiculite: A mineral used in horticulture for seed germination and improving soil aeration.
W
- Waterlogging: Saturation of soil with water, which can inhibit plant growth.
- Wetting Agent: A substance that reduces the surface tension of water, making it spread more easily on solid surfaces.
X
- Xylem: The vascular tissue in plants that conducts water and dissolved nutrients upward from the root and helps to form the woody element in the stem.
Y
- Yield: The quantity of crop produced from a particular plant or a specific area of cultivation.
Z
- Zygote: The initial cell formed when two gamete cells are joined by means of sexual reproduction.
