Glossary
- abaxial
the under side of a frond or pinnae, facing away from an axis
- acicular
needle like, pointed
- acroscopic
pointed towards the apex of the frond
- acrostichoid
a solid covering of sori on the underside of the frond
- acuminate
gradually tapering to a long point
- acute
a sharp tip
- adaxial
he upper surface of a frond or pinnae, facing an axis
- adnate
fused with or broadly attached to an unlike part, for example a pinna united with a rachis
- aerial roots
growing in the air as on tree ferns
- allelopathy
the release of a chemical by one plant to inhibit the growth of nearby plants
- alternate
not opposite
- anadromous
with the first branch of a pinna aimed towards the frond’s apex
- anastomosing
with veins joining in a network rather than freely branching
- antheridium
the sperm producing male organ, found on the underside of the prothallus
- apex
the tip of a frond or pinnae
- apogamous
producing a sporophyte directly from a prothallus without sexual fertilization
- appressed
pressed flat together
- areole
the space enclosed between veins
- archegonium
the egg producing female organ on a prothallus
- articulate
jointed, a natural breaking point usually on a stipe
- auricle
an ear like lobe, frequently on a pinnae adjacent to its juncture with the rachis
- axis
the main structural support of a frond or its subdivisions
- basiscopic
pointing towards the base, frequently as on a lower pinnule
- biauriculate
with two ear like lobes usually at the pinnae attachment to the rachis
- bicolorous
having two colors, usually applies to the scales
- bipinnate
twice divided
- blade
the expanded leafy part of a frond above the stipe; sometimes called the lamina
- bulbil
or bulblet – a small bulb like growth on a frond that reproduces vegetatively
- calcareous
type of soil or rocks containing lime
- catadromous
with the first branch of a pinnae aimed away from the frond’s apex
- ciliate
bearing hairs (cilia)
- circinate
coiled with the apex of the emerging frond at the center of the coil
- clathrate
lattice like often in reference to scales
- concolorous
of one color
- cone
modified leaves that carry sporangia
- cordate
heart shaped as in the base of a blade
- costa
the midvein of a pinna
- crenate
with scalloped margins, rounded teeth
- crested
with frond, pinnae or pinnule tips forking
- crisped
with wavy margins
- crosier
the curled unfurling frond, also called the fiddlehead (sometimes spelled crozier)
- crown
the growing point of a stem producing fronds usually in a circle
- cultivar
a cultivated variety of a species
- deciduous
with fronds that die back at maturity, usually in the late fall or winter
- deltoid
triangular
- dentate
with teeth along the margins, (diminutive – denticulate)
- dimorphic
having two types of fronds, sterile and fertile different in form
- disjunct
from a different geographical area
- discombobulated
“the feeling an uninitiated fern amateur might have when encountering technical terms” Palmer, 2003
- distal
toward a tip, away from the main body
- elliptic
oval, widest in the middle and rounded at the ends
- elongate
long relative to width
- endemic
native to a particular country or region
- entire
undivided, with smooth margins
- epiphyte
growing on another plant, usually a tree, but not parasitic
- evergreen
carrying fronds throughout the winter
- exindusiate
without indusia
- falcate
sickle shaped
- false indusia
with frond margins rolled over the sori
- farina
waxy powder, usually white or yellow, found on the undersides of blades
- fastigiate
narrowly erect
- fertile
bearing spores
- fiddlehead
crosier, the unfurling curled frond
- fimbriate
fringed
- flabellate
fan shaped
- free
not united usually in reference to veins
- frond
the leaf of a fern including the stipe and blade
- gametophyte
the sexual plant, the prothallus, produced from spores bearing both sperms and an egg, which after fertilization will produce the sporophyte.
- gemma
an asexual bud that is carried on the stem, plural, gemmae
- glabrous
smooth
- glaucous
dull bluish-green with a very thin, white wax-like coating
- hair
composed of a single cell or row of cells only one cell thick
- hastate
shaped like an arrowhead
- heterosporous
having two types of spores usually differing in size
- homosporous
having one type of spore
- hydathode
a small vein tip on the upper surface of a blade often discharging water or mineral salts
- imbricate
overlapping of similar parts
- incised
deeply cut
- indusiate
having indusia
- indusium
a small membrane or tissue covering the sori, plural indusia
- jointed
breaking at certain points
- lacerate
torn
- laciniate
cut into narrow lobes
- lamina
the blade of a frond
- lanceolate
lance shaped
- leaflet
a small division of a frond
- linear
narrow and parallel sided
- lobe
a rounded but not separate segment
- medial
midway between the midrib and margin, usually in reference to the sori
- midrib
(or mid vein) the central vein of a blade or its subdivisions
- monomorphic
having one type of frond
- mucronate
with a short pointed tip
- node
the point on a stem where new growth is attached
- nothospecies
a species derived from existing species, usually originating following hybridization between species.
- palmate
like a hand
- peltate
circular, centrally attached, usually in reference to indusia
- petiole
a stalk, the stipe
- phyllopodium
the crater-like scar left when a jointed frond falls from the rhizome, plural phyllopodia
- pinna
a primary division of a fern blade, plural pinnae
- pinnate
having pinnae in rows on both sides of an axis, once divided
- pinnate-pinnatifid
once divided with deeply lobed pinnae, but not cut to the midrib
- pinnatifid
deeply lobed but not cut to the axis
- pinnule
the secondary division of a twice divided blade
- proliferous
having propagable buds or plantlets
- propagule
a structure capable of forming new plants
- prothallus
the gametophyte, a small fertile plant bearing sperms and an egg, plural prothalli
- proximal
toward the base
- pteridophyte
a fern
- quadripinnate
four times divided
- rachis
the midrib of the blade, a continuation of the stipe
- reniform
kidney shaped
- reticulate
describes veins that meet in a network
- rhizome
a stem from which fronds are produced, can be erect to short or long creeping
- scale
a multicellular flat growth, usually only one cell thick
- segment
a small division of a divided frond
- serpentine
soil or rocks high in magnesium and low in phosphorous and calcium with limited plant life
- serrate
with teeth as on a saw blade
- sessile
without a stalk
- simple
undivided
- sinus
a space between two lobes or segments
- sorus
a group of sporangia, plural sori
- spinulose
having spines along a margin
- sporangiaster
a structure, usually consisting of a short stalk terminated by a cluster of bulbous and/or glandular cells and interspersed among sporangia in a sorus
- sporangium
the fern’s spore bearing structure, plural sporangia
- spore
a one celled reproductive unit formed in the sporangium, produces a prothallus
- sporeling
a very young fern, name given to one just developing from a prothallus
- sporocarp
a hard nut like structure containing the sporangium of aquatic ferns
- sporophyte
the familiar fern, the generation that produces spores
- stalk
a supporting structure
- stalked
attached with a stalk
- stellate
branching in a star like fashion, often referring to hairs
- sterile
not producing spores
- stipe
the stalk connecting the blade to the rhizome, petiole
- stipule
an outgrow usually on both sides of the base of the stipe
- stolon
a runner, capable of rooting at the tips and forming new plants
- strobilus
a cone like reproductive structure at the tip of a fertile branch, plural strobili
- symbiotic
two mutually supportive organisms growing together
- ternate
arranged in threes
- terrestrial
growing in soil
- tripinnate
three times divided
- truncate
ending abruptly, perpendicular to an axis
- undulate
wavy
- vascular bundles
the internal conduction system carrying water and nutrients
- vegetative frond
lacking fertile material
- vein
strands of vascular tissue in the foliage, may be netted or free
- whorled
three or more leaves growing at the same level around a stem
- wing
frond blade tissue along a stipe or rachis
- xerophyte
a plant growing in a dry area