Horticulture Glosary

  1. Ecosystem- a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment

  2. Semi-natural Vegetation- vegetation that has been partly created or altered by human activity but still retains many natural features

  3. Nomenclature- deals with the naming of plants

  4. Taxonomy - deals with the principles on which a classification is based

  5. Systematics - identifies the groups to be used in classification

  6. Ephemeral - A plant that has several life cycles in a growing season and can increase in numbers rapidly

  7. Annual- A plant that completes its life cycle within a growing season

  8. Biennial - A plant with a life cycle that spans two growing seasons

  9. Perennial- A plant living through several growing seasons

  10. Tender- A plant that is damaged by low temperatures and must be protected from frost

  11. Half-hardy - A plant that will tolerate low temperatures but must be protected from frost

  12. Hardy- A plant that can survive the winter outdoors

  13. Herbaceous - A plant with no permanent woody stem above ground

  14. Woody - A plant with a permanent woody stem above ground

  15. Evergreen - A plant that retains its leaves throughout the year

  16. Semi-evergreen- A plant that retains some of its leaves during the winter

  17. Deciduous - A plant that sheds its leaves in the autumn or winter

  18. Humidity- the amount of water vapor in the air

  19. Anemometer - an instrument for measuring wind speed

  20. Tissue - a collection of specialized cells carrying out a particular function

  21. Protoplasm - all of the living matter of a cell, nucleus and cytoplasm

  22. Viable Seed- a seed that has the potential for germination given the required external conditions

  23. Imbibition - the process of a seed absorbing water like a sponge taking up water

  24. Osmosis - the process of cells taking up water, often doubling the size of a dry seed

  25. Plant Development- processes that cause the changes in the plant during its life cycle

  26. Epigeal - seed germination where the cotyledons are raised above ground

  27. Hypogeal- seed germination where the cotyledons remain below ground

  28. Dormancy- a period of time where the plant is inactive

  29. Viability - ability to live or grow

  30. Phototropism- the orientation of a plant or other organism in response to light, either toward the source of light ( positive phototropism ) or away from it ( negative phototropism )

  31. Photoperiodism - the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of day or night

  32. Weed- a plant growing in the wrong place at the wrong time

  33. Pest- an animal that is harmful to plants or crops

  34. Disease- a condition that impairs normal physiological function in a plant

  35. Pesticide- used to cover all crop protection chemicals, which include herbicides (for weeds), insecticides (for insects), acaricides (for mites), nematicides (for nematodes), and fungicides (for fungi)

  36. Topsoil - the uppermost layer of soil normally moved during cultivation. Typically it is 10 to 40 cm deep and darkened by the decomposed organic matter it contains

  37. Subsoil- the layer below that normally cultivated and lighter in color because of its low organic matter level

  38. Soil Texture - the relative proportions of the sand, silt and clay particles in the soil

  39. Colloids- particles that are less than 0.001 mm in diameter and are kept permanently in suspension by the bombardment of vibrating water molecules

  40. Soil Structure - the arrangement of particles in the soil

  41. Infiltration - the process of water soaking into the soil

  42. Surface Run-off- water that flows over the surface of the soil

  43. Ponding - accumulation of water on the soil surface

  44. Field Capacity (FC) - the amount of water remaining in a soil after free drainage has occurred

  45. Available Water - the water held in the soil between field capacity and permanent wilting point and is available to plants

  46. Soil Moisture Deficit (SMD) - the amount of water needed to restore a soil to field capacity

  47. Fertilizers- concentrated sources of plant nutrients that are added to growing media

  48. Major Nutrients- essential minerals required in relatively large quantities

  49. Micronutrients- essential minerals needed in relatively small quantities, usually measured in parts per million