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Australian Biological Resources Study

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Flora of Australia
GLOSSARY

Compiled by A.McCusker


INDEX

| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J-K | L | M | N | O | P-Q | R | S | T | U | V | W-Z | Back to Glossaries

F

facultative: of parasites, optional. cf. obligate.

falcate: sickle-shaped.

family: a group of one to many genera believed to be related phylogenetically, usually clearly separable from other such groups; the major taxonomic group between genus and order.

farinaceous: containing starch grains; mealy; resembling flour.

fascicle: a cluster, adj. fasciculate.

favulariate: of a surface, finely ribbed, the ribs separated by zig-zag furrows.

fenestrate: having openings or translucent areas ('windows').

fertilisation: the union of male and female gametes.

filament: the stalk of a stamen; a thread one or more cells thick. cf. anther. > image <

filiform: thread-like. > image <

fimbriate: of a margin, fringed with long slender hair-like processes (called fimbriae).

fimbrillate: minutely fimbriate.

fistular: hollow throughout its length.

flabellate (= flabelliform): fan-shaped. > image <

flaccid: limp; tending to wilt. cf. turgid.

flagelliform: long and very slender, like a whip-lash.

flexuose (= flexuous): bent from side to side in a zig-zag form.

floccose: bearing tufts of soft hairs or wool which tend to rub off and adhere in small masses.

floral: belonging to or associated with a flower.

floret: a grass flower, together with the lemma and palea that enclose it (often also applied to the individual small flowers in Cyperaceae and Asteraceae).

flower: the sexual reproductive structure of the angiosperms, typically consisting of gynoecium, androecium and perianth and the axis bearing these parts.

foliaceous: leaf-like.

follicle: a dry, dehiscent fruit formed from one carpel and dehiscing along the line of fusion of its edges. > image <

forb: a non-woody plant other than a grass, sedge, rush, etc. cf. herb.

-form: superficially resembling; e.g. umbelliform (inflorescence resembling but not truly an umbel).

foveate: pitted. > image <

free-central: of placentation, with the ovules borne on a free-standing central placenta within the ovary. > image <

free: of floral organs, not fused or united with other similar organs.

frond: a leaf, especially of a fern, cycad or palm.

fruit: the seed-bearing structure in angiosperms, formed from the ovary after flowering.

frutescent: becoming shrub-like (woody).

fruticose: shrub-like.

fugacious: falling or withering away very early.

fulvous: dull yellowish brown or yellowish grey.

funicle (= funiculus): the stalk of an ovule. > image <

fusiform: spindle-shaped, i.e. narrower at both ends than at the centre.

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