General Botany Lab: Forms of Plants

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering plant forms, leaf retention, life cycles, growth forms, vine types, grass anatomy, and aquatic plant categories based on the general botany lecture.

Evergreen

A plant that retains green foliage year-round, continuously dropping and replacing leaves so it is never completely bare, often featuring thick cuticles to minimize water loss (e.g., Mango - Mangifera indica).

Deciduous

A plant exhibiting seasonal leaf loss during cold or dry/wet seasons, shedding leaves via abscission to reduce surface area for water loss (e.g., Narra - Pterocarpus indicus).

Abscission

The shedding of leaves occurring as a result of structural changes in an abscission zone located near the base of the petiole of each leaf.

Life Cycle

The duration or length of time that a plant actually lives.

Annual Plant

A plant that completes its life cycle within a single growing season or year and then dies, displaying determinate growth and producing many seeds for a single chance at reproduction (e.g., Rice - Oryza sativa).

Biennial Plant

A plant that lives for $2$ growing seasons, growing vegetatively and storing reserves in the first year, then flowering, producing seeds, and dying in the second year (e.g., Carrot - Daucaus carota).

Perennial Plant

A plant that lives for more than $2$ years and can reproduce repeatedly once reaching maturity (e.g., Gumamela - Hibiscus rosa-sinensis).

Pseudostem

A false stem structure formed from tightly packed leaf sheaths rather than a true woody trunk, as found in banana plants (Musa spp.).

Woody Stem

A hard stem composed of lignin that forms permanent supporting structures and persists from year to year (found in trees, shrubs, and lianas).

Herbaceous Stem

A soft, green, non-woody stem made of cellulose that does not form true wood or thick bark layers.

Tree

A large perennial woody plant, usually over $9$\,m high, featuring secondary branches arising from a single main stem or trunk above ground level.

Shrub

A smaller perennial woody plant, usually less than $3$\,m high, characterized by multiple woody stems arising near the base (e.g., Santan - Ixona spp.).

Vines

Plants with elongated stems that cannot fully support themselves independently and rely on external support structures to climb, trail, or scramble.

Twine

A climbing growth method where the entire stem wraps around an external support structure.

Tendrils

Slender, specialized anatomical structures used by climbing plants to grip external objects.

Herbaceous Vine

A creeping vine with a soft, green, and flexible stem that lacks wood (e.g., morning glory - Ipomoea spp.).

Lianas

Woody vines with hard stems that utilize other trees for structural support (e.g., grape - Vitis vinifera).

Forb

A broad-leaved, non-grass herbaceous flowering plant, often possessing showy flowers (e.g., sneezeweed - Helenium autumnale).

Node

A solid joint on a grass stem from which leaves, buds, or branches originate.

Internode

The stem region situated between two successive nodes.

Leaf Sheath

The lower portion of a grass leaf that wraps around and encloses the stem.

Leaf Blade

The flat, green portion of a leaf extending outward from the sheath, featuring parallel veins in grass species.

Emergent Plant

An aquatic plant rooted in substrate below the water line with shoots extending above the water surface (e.g., Cattails - Typha).

Floating-leaved Plant

An aquatic plant rooted at the bottom whose leaves float on the surface of the water (e.g., Fragrant Water Lily - Nymphaea odorata).

Free-floating Plant

An aquatic plant not rooted in bottom mud, possessing loose, wandering roots suspended in the water (e.g., Water Hyacinth - Eichhornia crassipes).

Submerged Plant

An aquatic plant whose vegetative structures remain completely submerged within the water (e.g., Hydrilla - Hydrilla verticillata).

Vine Habit

The growth process of a plant increasing its size, building new cells, and extending roots and stems.

Climbing Mechanism

A specialized way of growing in which a plant employs specific anatomical tools (such as tendrils or twining stems) and relies on external structures for support.

Determinate Growth

A growth pattern in which plant growth ceases after reaching a specific, predetermined maturity level.