Botanical Words Alphabetical List - GE
GEITONOGAMY: The pollination of a pistil by pollen from another flower of the same plant.
GEMINIFLOROUS: Having flowers in pairs.
GEMMA (pl. gemmae): A bud; in some cryptogams, an asexual, bud-like reproductive body.
GEMMACEOUS: Relating to gemmae.
GEMMATE: Having gemmae; reproducing by buds.
GEMMATION: The act of budding; asexual reproduction in which a new organism originates locally within the body or on the surface of the parent. Also gemmulation.
GEMMIFORM: Resembling a gemma.
GEMMOID: Having the nature or form of a gemma.
GEMMULE: A small bud or gemma.
GENE: The parts of the chromosomes of the cells of plants that determine inherited traits. For every trait or characteristic (i.e. flower color), a plant usually receives one gene from each parent.
GENERIC: 1. Pertaining to a genus, or a kind or group of similar things; comprehending a number of like things, without specifying them. 2. Having the taxonomic rank or classificatory value of a genus (i.e. a generic name or description, generic characters or differences, generic identity). In the botanic classification of Genipa Americana, Genipa is the generic name of over 75 trees with similar characteristics, differing from other genera or groups of plants. 3. Distinctly characteristic; so marked as to constitute or denote a distinct kind.
GENERIC AGREEMENT/IDENTITY: The agreement of objects that belong to the same genus.
GENERIC AREA: The region to which the members of a genus (group) are limited in distribution. (The place in a generic area where the genus is most represented by species or individuals is known as its metropolis.)
GENERIC DESCRIPTION/DIAGNOSIS: A description or characterization of a genus in botany.
GENERIC DIVERSITY: The differences between individuals of different genera.
GENERIC NAME: The denomination that comprehends all the species, as of a group of animals, plants or fossils, which have generic characteristics in common.
GENESIS: The means of development and origin of soil.
GENICULATE: Bent at an abrupt angle, like a knee. Also geniculated.
GENUS (pl. of genera): A category in plant classification, consisting of one or more related species. Thus, all Roses are grouped in the genus Rosa, all Willows in the genus Salix and all Oaks in the genus Quercus. Each genus, or group, includes a number of species. For example, Quercus contains the Pin Oak (Q. palustris), the Red Oak (Q. coccinea), the Black Oak (Q. velutina), and many others. Some genera, such as Ginkgo and Sanguinaria, consist of only a single species. The genera name is also known as the botanical name. Just as there are species assigned to a single genus, there a number of genera assigned to a family (See family).
GEOTROPIC: Pertaining to, or exhibiting, geotropism.
GEOTROPISM: 1. Tropism in which gravity is the orienting factor, up or down. 2. Tropism in which growth is toward the earth. Also geotropy.
GERMINATE: To cause to grow or sprout; to begin growing.
GERMINATION: 1. The act, process, or result of germinating; the development of a seed. The development of a seed into a plant. Oxygen, warmth and moisture are necessary for germination to occur. The moisture softens the seed, relaxes tissues in the embryo and dissolves nutrients. Oxygen is necessary for the chemical changes needed for growth. The temperature needed varies between the species. Some seeds, such as wheat seeds, will germinate on melting ice; others need temperatures higher than 60º F. When germination takes place, a root is produced that grows down into the soil; at the same time, a stem and leaves are growing upward. 2. The similar development of a plant from a spore in cryptogams, such as ferns. 3. The early period of growth in a bud, as a bulb or a rhizome. 4. The protrusion and growth of the pollen tube from the pollen grain.
GERMINATIVE: Pertaining to germination; capable of germination.
GERM TUBE: A tubular, thread-like growth first formed by most spores in germination.
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