Word Quiz of the Week
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What is the scientific study of the traditional knowledge and customs of different human societies concerning plants and their medical, religious, economic, and other use?
Illustrated Glossary
Word Quiz of the Week
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What adjective describes a plant that grows in dense tufts?
Word Quiz of the Week
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What is a small or secondary spike called?
Word Quiz of the Week
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Chelone (turtlehead) and Penstemon (beard-tongue), both members of the Plantaginaceae (plantain family), are described as having five stamens—four fertile and one sterile. What is the sterile stamen called?
Word Quiz of the Week
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What type of fruit is an apple?
Word Quiz of the Week
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In casual conversation, you might hear this term used to describe a person who is easily cheated or deceived, but in botany, it describes a shoot originating underground from the root or stem of a plant; what is it?
Word Quiz of the Week
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What are the dense tufts or rows of hairs found on some species of irises, spiderworts, and turtleheads?
Word Quiz of the Week
Often, and erroneously, referred to as berries, what type of fruit do holly, fringetree, and partridge-berry have?
Word Quiz of the Week
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Is the first flower to bloom on a cyme at the top or the bottom of the main axis?
Word Quiz of the Week
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What type of inflorescence is a composite flower?
Word Quiz of the Week
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Dichogamy is a cross-pollination strategy where a flower’s stamens—male reproductive organs—and stigmas—female reproductive organs—mature at different times to prevent self-pollination. In protogyny, flowers are functionally female first and male second. What is the term for the process in reverse—when stamens mature before stigmas?
Word Quiz of the Week
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What are the underground stems from which roots and shoots grow?
Word Quiz of the Week
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One of the common names of native ground cover Silene caroliniana is Sticky Catchfly; do you know why?
Word Quiz of the Week
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What are the spots, raised bumps, or stripy scarifications often visible on the stems of trees like pawpaw, birch, and cherry?
Word Quiz of the Week
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Packera aurea (golden ragwort) has two distinctive forms of pinnate leaves. Its basal evergreen leaves have pinnate venation. What is the term that describes its pinnately-lobed stem leaves?
Word Quiz of the Week
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In botanical terms, what does the word persistent mean?
Word Quiz of the Week
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Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel) flowers disperse their pollen using an explosive pollination method—vertical catapulting; which flower parts are involved in this process?
Word Quiz of the Week
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To what does this rhyme refer: “Sedges have edges, rushes are round, and grasses are hollow, straight to the ground”?
Word Quiz of the Week
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What tree, native primarily to the southeastern United States, has knobby knees?
Word Quiz of the Week
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How do vines, like Gelsemium, Lonicera, and Wisteria, climb?
Introducing Word Quiz of the Week
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Over five years, #MGNV developed an illustrated horticultural and botanical glossary, defining 313 terms accompanied by about 1482 photos/illustrations/diagrams/videos. New glossary additions are paused for 2026 while we introduce "Word Quiz of the Week" to engage readers each Monday. Prepare yourself with today’s practice quiz. Happy New Year!
New to the Glossary: Corymb
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A #corymb is a flat-topped or convex inflorescence shaped by the varying heights of its flower stalks. Individual stalks grow upward from different levels on the rachis, with the outer stalks being longer than the inner stalks so that they all rise to approximately the same height.
New to the Glossary: Stipule
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Stipules are modified leaves whose size and form vary among species. Typically much smaller than and distinct from primary leaves, they may be overlooked by casual observers. However, rose stipules are easy to identify—a pair fuses along the base of the petiole, creating a distinctive wing-like appearance.
New to the Glossary: Fungus
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Fungi—rusts, smuts, mildews, molds, mushrooms, yeasts—can cause plant disease and death, or, can be beneficial as medicines and food and in symbiotic relationships. Mycorrhizal fungi partner with roots, stabilizing plants and enhancing their absorption of nutrients and water. To encourage mycorrhizal growth, #leave-the-leaves in fall.