Key Terms

Prepared by: learnloophq@gmail.com

Last edited 25 days ago by Learn LoopHQ.

Chapter: 01. The Leaf

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Flowering Plants: Plants that bear flowers.

Non-flowering Plants: Plants that do not bear flowers.

Stem: The part of a plant that bears leaves, transports water and food, and supports branches, flowers, and fruits.

Nodes: Points on the stem where leaves attach.

Internodes: Sections of the stem between two nodes.

Axillary Buds: Buds present in the axil of leaves that grow into new branches.

Flowers: Reproductive organs of plants that produce fruits and seeds.

Fruits: Structures that store food and protect seeds.

Roots: Plant parts that anchor the plant in soil and absorb water and minerals.

Taxonomy: The science of identifying, naming, and classifying organisms.

Binomial System of Biological Nomenclature: A uniform system for naming organisms developed by Carl Linnaeus, giving each organism a two-part name.

Leaf: A green, flattened, blade-like structure attached to the node of a stem or its branches, mainly involved in photosynthesis and transpiration.

Petiole: The stalk of a leaf that attaches the leaf blade to the stem or branch.

Leaf Base: The swollen end of the petiole where it is attached to the stem at the node.

Stalked Leaves: Leaves that possess a petiole.

Sessile Leaves: Leaves that do not possess a petiole and are directly attached to the stem.

Lamina (Leaf Blade): The green, flat, and expanded part of the leaf.

Midrib: The central axis of the lamina.

Veins: Lateral branches arising from the midrib, supporting the lamina and transporting substances.

Veinlets: Smaller branches of veins within the lamina.

Venation: The arrangement of veins in the leaf blade or lamina.

Reticulate Venation: A type of venation where veins and veinlets form a network in the lamina.

Parallel Venation: A type of venation where veins run parallel to each other.

Simple Leaf: A leaf whose lamina is undivided (entire or partially incised, but not up to the midrib).

Compound Leaf: A leaf whose lamina is cut up to the midrib, forming smaller units called leaflets.

Rachis: The common stalk to which leaflets of a compound leaf are attached.

Photosynthesis: The process by which green leaves manufacture food (glucose, converted to starch) from carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sunlight, using chlorophyll.

Chlorophyll: The green pigment in leaves that traps energy from sunlight for photosynthesis.

Transpiration: The removal of excess water in the form of water vapor from the surface of leaves through stomata.

Stomata: Tiny pores present on the surface of leaves through which exchange of respiratory gases and water vapor (transpiration) takes place.

Respiration (in plants): The exchange of respiratory gases (oxygen intake, carbon dioxide release) through stomata.

Leaf Tendril: A modification of leaves into thin, wire-like, coiled structures for support in climbing plants.

Spines (Leaf Modification): A modification of leaves into sharp, pointed structures to avoid water loss by transpiration and protect the plant from grazing animals.

Scale Leaves: Thin and dry or thick and fleshy leaf modifications that protect buds and sometimes store food material.

Insectivorous Plants: Plants that catch and prey upon small insects to supplement their nitrogen requirement.

Pitcher Plant: An insectivorous plant where the lamina is modified into a pitcher to trap insects.

Bladderwort: An insectivorous plant where the leaf is modified into a sac-like bladder to trap insects.

Venus Flytrap: An insectivorous plant where the lamina is divided into two parts with toothed margins that interlock to trap insects.

Sundew Plant: An insectivorous plant whose leaves secrete a gluey mucilage and bear trichomes to trap and digest prey.

Vegetative Propagation: A form of asexual reproduction where new plants grow or multiply from vegetative parts such as root, stem, or leaves.

Adventitious Buds (on leaves): Buds that develop along the margin of leaves (e.g., Bryophyllum, Begonia) and can grow into new plantlets.

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