Glossary
- Adaxial
- Facing towards the stem.
- Annulus
- A single layer of cells on the exterior of a sporangium.
- Blade
- The flattened upper part of a frond.
- Cell wall
- The outer rigid structure surrounding a plant cell.
- Clathrate
- Lattice-like appearance due to thick lateral cell walls and transparent surface walls.
- Cortex
- The layer of tissue in the stem or root of a vascular plant outside the vascular bundles.
- Costa
- The midrib of the pinna.
- Costule
- The midrib of the pinnule.
- Dictyostele
- A type of stele where the vascular tissue is divided into strands encircling a central pith.
- Elongate
- Long and narrow.
- Free veins
- Veins branching from the midvein that do not unite with other veins.
- Frond
- A megaphyll of a fern.
- Gamete
- A haploid cell which fuses with another haploid cell as a result of sexual reproduction.
- Gametophyte
- The sexual gamete-producing multicellular stage in the life cycle of plants and most algae. The alternate life cycle stage is the sporophyte.
- Hair
- A thin surface structure that is only one cell wide.
- Haploid
- Having the number of chromosomes in a cell typical of a gamete.
- Indusium
- A layer of thin tissue forming a cover over a sorus.
- Lanceolate
- Long, narrow, wider at the base than at the middle and tapering to a point at the top.
- Megaphyll
- A type of plant leaf that has multiple veins, the other type being a microphyll.
- Megaphyllous
- Having megaphylls or reduced structures derived from megaphylls.
- Microphyll
- A type of plant leaf that has a single veins, the other type being a macrophyll.
- Midvein
- The vein that emerges from the base of a leaf and runs down the middle towards the tip.
- Monolete
- Having a single linear scar on the surface.
- Pedicellate
- A structure supported by a stalk or stem.
- Perennial
- Plants that typically live for three or more years.
- Periclinal
- Parallel to the surface of the tissue.
- Phloem
- A type of plant tissue that transports soluble organic compounds made by a plant by photosynthesising.
- Pinna
- The first level of division of a compound leaf.
- Pinnule
- The second level of division of a compound leaf.
- Pith
- Central tissue of vascular plant stems and roots that does not form part of the vascular tissue.
- Rachis
- The midrib of the blade.
- Reflex
- Curled over.
- Reniform
- Kidney-shaped.
- Rhizome
- A plant stem that grows parallel to the growing medium or surface from which roots and shoots emerge.
- Scale
- A thin surface structure that is more than one cell wide.
- Sclereid
- Plant cells with thick cell walls that provide a plant with structural support.
- Sorus
- A cluster of sporangia.
- Sporangial stalk
- A thin structure connecting the base of a sporangium to a sporophyte.
- Sporangial stomium
- The cells in the region of the sporangium that opens so that the spores are released.
- Sporangium
- The spore-producing structure of a sporophyte.
- Spore
- Plant cells that are produced by a sporophyte that go on to germinate into a gametophyte.
- Sporophyte
- The asexual spore-producing multicellular stage in the life cycle of plants and most algae. The alternate life cycle stage is the gametophyte.
- Stele
- The central part of the root or stem of a vascular plant.
- Stipe
- The thin base of a frond connecting the blade to the rest of the fern.
- Vascular bundle
- An arrangement of vascular tissue within a plant.
- Vascular tissue
- A cellular assembly for transporting water and nutrients, the major components of which are xylem and phloem.
- Vein
- The major regions of a plant leaf occupied by vascular tissue.
- Xylem
- A type of plant tissue that transports water and soluble mineral nutrients.