Plant Identification Vocab

Inflorescence

The flower/group of flowers on a plant

Umbel

Flower cluster in which the stalks all radiate from a common point

Spike

Elongated flower cluster in which the stalks arise from a main stem

Head

Cluster of stalkless flowers that arise from a broad, flat peduncle

Peduncle

Stalk bearing a fruit or inflorescence

Bract

Modified leaf, often just below an inflorescence and above sepal

Sepal

Modified leaves that combine to be the calyx and enclose around the flower petals

Spikelet

Grass inflorescence composed of plumes/bracts and florets

Awn

Stiff bristle extending from the spikelet of some grasses

Whorled leaves

Arrangement of 3+ leaves to a node

Disk flower

Small, clustered flowers at the center of a composite inflorescence

Ray flower

Petal-like flowers extending around the periphery of a composite flower

Phyllary

Single bract

Ovate

Egg-like leaf shape (wider at base than midpoint)

Petiole

Stalk that joins a leaf to a stem

Compound leaves

Leaves that divide into smaller segments

Pulvini

Joint-like section at the base of a petiole that moves the leaf through changes in turgor

Extra-floral nectaries

Nectar-producing organs that are not found in the flowers of a plant

Involucre

Whorl of bracts at the base of an umbel or surrounding an inflorescence

Leaftlet

Leaf-like part of a compound leaf

Cordate

Heart-shaped leaf

Cauline

Growing immediately on the main above-ground stem of a plant

Sessile

Leaf attached directly at its base without a stalk or peduncle

Dehiscent

A pod that is splitting open