Botanical Words Alphabetical List - AU

AUGER:A tool for boring a hole in the soil. Different-sized augers, powered by hand or electric drills, are used in planting or transplanting seeds, seedlings, or bulbs or in fertilizing shrubs, trees and ground covers.

AURICLE: Ear-shaped projection or appendage. Ear-shaped lobes, often paired, as on the labellum or column of an Orchid.

AURICULATE: A leaf or petal with a pair of small, blunt, ear-shaped projections at the base.

AUTOCARPOUS: Consisting of ripened pericarp alone, having no adnate parts; applied to fruits that are free from the perianth.

AUTOGAMOUS: Self-fertilized; applied to flowers that are fertilized by their own pollen.

AUTOGAMY: Self-fertilization; the fertilization of a flower by its own pollen.

AUTOTROPHIC: The ability to use simple chemical elements or compounds to obtain energy for growth.

AUXIN: An organic substance characterized by its ability to promote growth, particularly of roots. It is an active ingredient in rooting compounds.

AUXOTONIC: Determined by growth. Applied to the movements of plants that are the result of growth, rather than outside stimulation.

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