Australian Biological Resources Study
Compiled by A.McCusker
| 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
naked: of sporangia, not covered by an indusium; of seeds, exposed on the surface of a sporophyll (not enclosed within an ovary); of flowers, without perianth; of protoplasts or gametes, not bounded by a cell wall.
naturalised: introduced and reproducing itself without human assistance. cf. adventive, introduced.
navicular: boat-shaped.
nectary: a gland that secretes nectar. adj. nectariferous. > image | image <
neotype: a specimen or illustration selected to serve in place of a holotype, where all of the material on which the name was originally based is missing or destroyed; isoneotype: a duplicate of the neotype. cf. type.
nerve: = vein.
nest-fronds: specialised, shield-like, basal fronds in some ferns (e.g Platycerium) which accumulate leaf-litter.
neuter: sterile, e.g. of flowers in which neither the androecium nor the gynoecium is functional in reproduction.
nocturnal: of flowers, opening only at night.
node: the level (transverse plane) of a stem at which one or more leaves arise.
nomen conservandum: a name of a family, genus or species that has been formally accepted under the International Code for Botanical Nomenclature as the correct name contrary to the usual principles of botanical nomenclature; abbrev. nom. cons.
nomen illegitimum: a name which, at the time of its publication, was superfluous (because it included the type of an earlier name which should have been adopted) or had already been applied to another plant; abbrev. nom. illeg.
nomen nudum: a name published without a diagnosis or description of the entity to which it was applied, and without reference to either; abbrev. nom. nud.
nomen rejiciendum: a name rejected in favour of a 'nomen conservandum'; abbrev. nom. rej.
nucellus: the central tissue of an ovule, within which the megaspore mother cell is formed.
nut: a hard, dry, indehiscent fruit formed from two or more carpels but containing only one seed.