Terminology for Plumerias

 

 

The word in italics at the beginning of the definition is referring to the part of the plumeria being described.

 

 

Anther:                         (flower) The pollen-bearing part of the stamen.

 

Apex:                           (plant) The pointed end or tip. (plumeria leaf or tip)

 

Apical Bud:                  (plant) A bud at the tip of the stem.

 

Apical dominance:        (plant) The influence exerted by a terminal bud in suppressing the growth of lateral buds.

 

Apical meristem:          (plant) The region of actively dividing cells at the growing tip of the of a stem or root.

 

Auxin:                         (chemical) [Gk. auxen, to increase] A plant growth-regulating substance; controls cell elongation.

 

Axil:                           (plant) The upper angle between the leaf and the stem from which it grows

 

Axillary bud:               (plant) A bud occurring in the axil of a leaf.

 

Callus:                        (The end of a cutting) A thick new corky tissue developed by woody species to cover wounds.

 

Cambium:                   (plant) A layer of formative cells between the wood and the bark in woody plants. A slick feeling layer located just beneath the bark.

 

Chlorophyll:                 (plant) The green pigment of plant cells, which is the receptor of light energy in photosynthesis.

 

Cork:                          (plant) A secondary tissue produced by the cork cambium; non living at maturity; the outer part of the periderm.

 

Corolla:                       (flowers) The pedals collectively; usually the conspicuously colored flower whorl.

 

Cotyledon:                   (seed) Seed leaf; a primary leaf in the embryo; generally stores food in dicotyledons.

 

Cultivar:                       (plant) A variety of plant found only under cultivation. (a 😉 of botanical or horticultural importance, requiring a name.

 

Cytokinin:                    (chemical) A class of plant hormones that promotes cell division, among other effects.

 

Elliptical:                     (leaf shape) Plumeria leaves having the form of an ellipse.

 

Endosperm:                 (seed pod) The starch and oil-containing tissue of many seeds. [A soft fleshy strip located under the seam in a plumeria seed pod.]

 

Follicle:                        (seed pod) A dry, dehiscent, one- carpel led fruit with usually having more than one seed and opening along the ventral structure.

 

 Genus:                         (plant) A more or less closely related and definable group of plants, including one or more species. The name of the genus becomes the first word of the binomial employed in horticultural and botanical literature. The plumeria belongs to the genus Plumeria, Plumeria Obtusa or,     

                                    P. obtusa is the SINGAPORE PLUMERIA.

 

Glabrous:                     (leaves and inflorescence) Having a surface without hairs, projections or pubescence; smooth.

 

Graft:                           (plant) The placement of a Ascion@ (part of a branch containing buds) onto a growing root stock to produce a plant of a known variety.

 

Girdling:                      (plant) From a woody stem, the removal of a ring of bark extending inward to the cambium.

 

Hormone:                    (chemical) A chemical substance produced usually in minute amounts in one part of an organism, from which it is transported to another part of that organism on which it has a specific effect.

 

Humus:                                    (soil) Decomposing organic matter in the soil. 

 

 

Hybrid:                                    (plant) Offspring of two parents that differ in one or more heritable characteristics; offspring of two different varieties or of two different species.

 

Indoleacetic acid:         (chemical) or; IAA.  A naturally occurring auxin, a kind of plant hormone.

 

Inflorescence:              (flower) A flower cluster, with a definite arrangement of flowers.  The flowering part of a plant.  A flower cluster.

 

Internode:                    (Branch) A region of stem between two successive nodes.

 

Lanceolate:                  (leaf shape) Lance-shaped, several times longer than broad and widest below the middle, tapering with convex sides upward to the apex.

 

Leaching:                     (Soil) The downward movement and drainage of minerals from the soil by percolating water.

 

Leaf Scar:                    (branch or trunk) The scar left after the lead has fallen off. The plumeria has a smile for a leaf scar. This is one way to tell which end of a plumeria branch cutting is up. A smile point up.

Macro nutrients:           (fertilizer) [Gk. macros, large,+ L. nutrite, to nourish]: AN. P. K.@  Inorganic chemical elements required in large amounts for plant growth. AN@ Nitrogen, AP@ Phosphors,

AK@ Potassium or Apot ash,@ also, Calcium, Magnesium and Sulfur are in this group but in lesser amounts.

 

Micro nutrients:           (fertilizer) [Gk. mikros, small, + L. nutrite, to nourish] Inorganic chemical elements required only in very small or trace amounts for plant growth. Even though in trace amounts they are still important for the plants. Iron, chlorine, copper, manganese, zinc, molybdenum, and boron.

 

Node:                           (leaf) The part of the stem where a leaf is attached; see Internode.

 

Obovate:                      (leaf) Broader below rather than below the middle. The shape of an inverted egg.

 

Obtuse:                        (leaf) Blunt, rounded leaf tip.

 

 

 

 

 

Pandurate:                    (leaf) Fiddle-shaped; obovate with a pair of well developed basil lobes.

 

 

Petiole:                         (leaf) The leaf stalk; the portion of the leaf which supports the blade.

 

pH:                              (soil) A symbol denoting the relative concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution. pH values run from 0 to 14, and the lower the value the more acidic a solution, that is, the more hydrogen ions it contains. pH – 7 is natural, less than 7 is acidic and more than 7 is alkaline.

 

Pubescent:                   (leaf underside and inflorescence) Covered with soft down hairs.

 

Radicle:                       (root) [L. Radix, root] The embryonic root. The root from a seed.

 

Recurved:                    (flower) Curved backward or downward

 

Reflexed:                     (flower) Abruptly bent or turned downward, or bent backward.

 

Species:                       (plant) [L. Kind, sort] A kind of organism brought about by reproductive isolation; designated by binomial names written in italics.

 

Stoma:                         (leaf) pl. Stomata: [Gk. stoma, mouth] A minute opening bordered by guard cells in the epidermis of leaves and stems through which gasses pass. {They can be blocked by soap or chemical sprays.} Stomata allow the plant to breath.

 

Transpiration:              (leaf) The loss of water vapor by plant parts; most transpiration occurs through stomata.

 

Turgid:                         (plant) Swollen, distended, referring to a cell that is firm due to water uptake.

 

Variety:                                    (plant) A group of plants of less than species rank. Botanists view varieties as equivalent to subspecies, and others consider them divisions of subspecies.

 

Vegetative reproduction: (cuttings) Reproduction by means other than by seeds. {Rooting a plumeria cutting}

 

Whorl:                         (plant) A circle of leaves or of flower parts.

 

 

Compiled by Carl Herzog

 

 

 

 

 

References:

Western Fertilizer Handbook; Second Horticultural Edition.  Interstate

Biology of Plants; Fourth Edition.  Worth

Vascular plant Families.  Smith 

Webster New World Dictionary.  Simon and Schuster