Horticulture Terms

1. Horticulture Terms Pope High School Joe Green, Agriculture Teacher July 2005

2. Horticulture • The ART of cultivating fruits, nuts, vegetables, or ornamental plants. • Horti = garden • Culture = garden culture

3. Floriculture • The cultivation of ornamental flowering plants.

4. Botany • The SCIENCE of plants to include anatomy, physiology and taxonomy.

5. Pomology • The science and practice of growing, harvesting and marketing tree fruits and nuts. Olericulture • The science and practice of growing, harvesting and marketing vegetables.

6. Annual • A plant which grows, flowers, produces seeds, and dies in one year. Must be replanted each year. Perennial • A plant that grows year after year without replanting. A plant whose roots lives year to year.

7. Taxonomy • The study of plant names and the identification of plants. Scientific name • The Latin name of a plant giving its genus and species.

8. Medium(Plural: Media) • Any material, which is used to start and grow, seeds and plants.

9. Seed coat Endosperm • The outer covering of a seed. • The stored food supply for the young developing seedling, which is contained in the seed. (“rocket fuel”) Embryo (embryonic plant) • The entire plant inside the seed before germination.

10. Hybrid • An offspring of two different varieties of one plant type, which possesses certain traits of each plant type.

11. Named varieties • Specific individual strains of one type of plant, which have been named to indicate their particular traits.

12. Cross Pollination • A process in which pollen (male sex cell) of one plant unites with the egg (female sex cell) of a different plant. Self Pollination • Fertilization of a plant by its own pollen. Male and female flower parts on the same flower.

13. Hardening Off Process • Gradually subjecting plants to more difficult growing conditions like withholding water and decreasing temperature, this prepares plants for transplanting by reducing transplant shock.

14. Cotyledons vs. True Leaves • Cotyledons are the first set of leaves that emerge from a seed at germination. • All other leaves are “true” leaves. • Cotyledons = “seed leaves”

15. Seed Germination • The miracle process when seeds begin to sprout and grow to begin a new plant • Germination occurs when a seed receives the correct amounts of light, temperature and water simultaneously.

16. Plant Propagation • The process of reproducing or increasing plants. Can be sexual or asexual.

17. Transpiration • Loss of water through the leaves or stems of plants. Sort of like “sweating” 90% of a plant’s water loss is here. • A normal daily process of plants. Higher water loss on sunny days.

18. Turgid • A plant whose tissues are swollen, filled with moisture. Not wilted. • Turgid plant = happy plant

19. Node • The “joint” of a stem, the swollen place where leaves and buds are attached. Roots form here when cuttings are made. Internode • The space between the nodes on a stem.

20. Callus • Mass of cells which forms around the wounded area of a plant to start the healing process. Similar to a “scab.” New roots will form in this callus tissue.

21. Softwood Cutting • A cutting made from a stem whose tissue is softer and not as mature as the older wood. Hardwood Cutting • A cutting made from a current seasons stem tissue, which is mature or harder in texture.

22. Rooting Hormone • A plant chemical used to help new cuttings to form new roots faster. • Sort of like a “steroid” to enhance growth.

23. Tissue Culture • “micro-propagation” • The process of reproducing thousands of plants from a few cells taken from the terminal bud tissue of a plant. • “test tube plants” • Must have extremely sanitary laboratory conditions for tissue culture.

24. Root Division • The physical separation of roots to form new plants from one “mother” plant. Terminal Tip Growth • Softer tissue from the tip of the plant where most of the new growth occurs.

25. Binomial Nomenclature • The international naming system that gives every plant 2 names, genus and the specie in Latin. • Scientific Name = Botanic Name.

26. Linnaeus • The Swedish botanist that came up with the 2 name system for classifying plants . • 1750

27. Genus • The first name of a plant scientific name. A group of plants that are grouped together because of their similarities to one another. (genera = plural). • A NOUN. Specie • The second name in scientific name, more specific in nature. • An ADJECTIVE that describes the genus.

28. Example: • Acer rubrum : Red Maple • Acer is the noun or genus. • rubrum is the adjective or specie that describes the genus (rubrum = red in latin) • Quercus alba = White Oak • Zebrina pendula, Setcresea purpurea

29. Cultivars • Another name for a specific plant, same as variety. • Example: There are several cultivars or “varieties”of Red Maple Tree. • “Red Sunset”, “October Glory”

30. Common Name • The local English name of a plant, which may differ in various localities. • Common names are not precise enough for commercial use.

31. Taxonomist • A person who studies plant names and the identification of plants as a career or field of study.

32. International Code of Botanical Nomenclature • A set of rules that are international for naming plants.

33. Mulch • Any material used to cover the soil for weed control and moisture retention. • Pine straw, pine bark nuggets, cypress shavings

34. Osmocote • A slow release fertilizer. Allows the plant to feed gradually over a longer period of time. Saves you labor. 14-14-14

35. Herbaceous • Any plant that has soft tissue and does not form wood or bark. A non-woody plant. Houseplants, annuals & some perennials. Deciduous • A plant which loses its leaves each autumn. It goes dormant in the winter.

36. Evergreen • A plant which has leaves or needles throughout the whole year.

37. Petiole • The stalk structure which supports the blade of the leaf. It attaches the leaf blade to the stem.

38. Simple leaf • A solitary leaf attached to a stem by a petiole. Compound Leaf • A group of leaflets which compose the entire compound leaf.

39. Monocot • Classification of those plants having only one cotyledon or seed leaf. Grasses, chives and corn are monocots. • Parallel veins. Dicot • A classification of plants having two cotyledons or seed leaves. • Vascular or woody plants.

40. Leaf Margin • The outer edge of a leaf …. • Serrate, entire, lobed, etc. Root Cap • The actively growing cells at the tip of the plant root.

41. Stoma • Small pores or holes in the leaf, which allow the plant to breathe and give off moisture. They open and close with day and night.

42. Lenticels • Breathing pores in the bark of woody stems. They open and close with day and night.

43. Ventilation • Movement and exchange of air in a greenhouse. Photoperiodism • The response of plants to different periods of light and darkness in terms of their flowering.

44. Short Day Plant • A plant that blooms in the short winter days. • Some plants can be “tricked” into blooming by giving them short days artificially. Chrysanthemums and Poinsettias

45. Breaks • New shoots that develop as a result of “pinching”. • Same results as pruning out the terminal bud of a plant.

46. Growth Regulators • Chemicals that retard plant growth. It slows down the plant growth so they don’t get too tall and floppy.

47. Root Rot • Most common disease of Poinsettia. Caused by: Bad drainage, Bad ventilation or too much water.

48. Fungicide • Any substance which destroys or prevents the growth of fungi. • A type of pesticide to control plant diseases.

49. J.R. Poinsett • The U.S. Ambassador to Mexico who introduced the Poinsettia to America for future production. • Named the plant afterhimself.

50. Plant Hardiness • The ability of a plant withstand to the minimum temperature of an area. Plant Form • The outer shape of a tree and it’s branches. The outer silhouette. • Round, columnar, oval, weeping, etc.