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Caespitose (cespitose)

Tufted; several or many stems in a close tuft.

Callus

The indurate downward extension of the mature lemma in Stipa, Aristida, and some other genera.

Capillary

Very slender or hairlike.

Capitate

In a globular cluster or head.

Capitellate

Posessing a minute swelling at the apex.

Cartilaginous

Firm and tough, but flexible; like cartilage.

Caryopsis

One-seeded, dry, indehiscent fruit or grain of grasses with a lateral embryo. The seed coat is adnate to the pericarp.

Cauline

Belonging to the stem, such as stem leaves.

Central axis

The main axis of the inflorescence.

Central groove

A longitudinal depression in the sides of the pedicels of Bothriochloa.

Cespitose

See caespitose.

Chlorenchyma

Parenchyma cells containing chloroplasts.

Ciliate

Fringed with hairs on the margin.

Ciliolate

Minutely ciliate.

Clasping

To hold parts together; holding.

Cleistogamous

Applied to flowers or florets fertilized without opening; must be self-fertile.

Cluster

A number of similar things, e.g. bracts or spikelets, grouped together.

Coleoptile

A protective sheath for the young shoot in the embryo.

Coleorhiza

The sheath of the monocotyledonous embryo that protects the primary root or radicle.

Collar

The area on the outer (abaxial) side of a leaf at the junction of the sheath and blade.

Column

The lower, undivided part of the awns of certain Aristida species.

Compact

Short and dense.

Compressed

Flattened strongly, typically laterally; keeled.

Concave

Dished inward, an existing hollow.

Connate

Fusion of like parts, such as sheath margins to form a tube.

Continuous

A rachis or other organ that does not disarticulate.

Contracted

Narrow or dense inflorescences, the branches being appressed or short.

Convex

Rounded on the surface.

Cordate

The heart-shaped base and pointed apex of a structure e.g. a leaf blade.

Coriaceous

Leathery texture.

Cork Cell

In the epidermis of grasses, ashort cell that contains suberin in its walls.

Corm

Short, bulb-like stem.

Crisp

Undulating in a horizontal plane.

Crown

Persistent base of a perennial.

Culm

The jointed grass stem, composed of nodes, internodes, leaves, and axillary buds.

Cylindrical

Shaped like a tube, round in cross section with parallel margins.