Glossary A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z menu home

Saccate

Swollen or sac-shaped; see the second glume of Sacciolepis.

Scabrous

Rough to the touch; caused by short, stiff, angled hairs on the surface.

Scarious

Thin, dry, and membranous; not green (e.g., the margins of a Poa lemma).

Schlerenchyma

A cell and tissue type in which the cells have both a primary cell wall and a secondary cell wall.

Scutellum

Haustorial tissue of the embryo located between the endosperm and the plummule-radicle axis of the embryo.

Second glume

The uppermost of the two glumes; an odd-veined, empty bract of the spikelet.

Secondary

Not primary, subordinate; the branches that arise from the primary branches.

Series

Number or group of similar objects arranged in a row.

Serrate

Saw-toothed with the teeth angled toward the apex, sharp teeth.

Sessile

Without a pedicel or stalk.

Setaceous

Slender and bristle-like.

Setae

A rigid bristle; sharp pointed bristle.

Sheath

The lower part of a leaf that encloses the culm; typically open or split and overlapping at the margins.

Short cell

Located in the epidermis of grasses, occurring in pairs of cork cells and silica cells.

Silica cell

One of two types of short cells in the epidermis of grasses, silica cells have deposits of silica in them.

Sinuate

Having a wavy margin.

Solitary

Single; one.

Spathe

A modified leaf sheath that subtends and often encloses some of the inflorescence.

Spatheate

Having a spathe.

Species

The basic unit of classification.

Spherical

Shaped like a globe or a ball.

Spicate

Spike-like; resembling a spike inflorescence but having both sessile and pedicellate spikelets or flowers.

Spicate raceme

Having both sessile and pedicellate spikelets on a rachis.

Spike

An unbranched inflorescence in which the spikelets are sessile on the rachis (main axis).

Spikelet

The basic unit of a grass inflorescence that typically consists of 2 glumes (except in some species where 1 or both glumes are lacking), 1 or more florets, and a rachilla.

Spines

A sharp pointed, stiff body arising from the epidermis; in grasses these are usually flattened and modified inflorescence branches.

Spiral

An arrangement of objects along the outline of a coiled spring.

Spreading

Branches that are widely ascending to divergent from the main axis.

Squarrose

Spreading rigidly at right angle; usually the shape of bracts.

Stamen

The male organ of a flower, consisting of the pollen bearing anther on a slender filament. The collective term for stamen is androecium.

Staminate

Containing stamen but not the pistil.

Sterile

Without pistils. A sterile floret may be staminate or neuter. Not capable of producing a seed.

Stigma

The part of the ovary or style that receives the pollen for fertilization.

Stipe

A small stalk to a fascicle of spikelets; see the stalk of Pennisetum.

Stolon

A horizontal, above-ground stem with modified leaves, nodes, internodes, and axillary buds.

Stoloniferous

Bearing horizontal above ground stems that root at the nodes.

Striate

Marked with longitudinal grooves or lines; appearing striped.

Sub

A prefix used to denote a lesser degree, an inferior rank, or a lower position.

Subequal

Nearly equal in length.

Subtend

To be below and close to; refers to position.

Subterranean

Below ground or below the soil.

Subulate

Awl-shaped.

Succulent

Fleshy, soft or juicy.

Systematics

The broad field concerned with the study of the diversity of plants and their identification, naming, classification, and evolution.