Australian Biological Resources Study
Compiled by A.McCusker
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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.