Botanical Words Alphabetical List - LA
LABELLUM: A lip, particularly the lip of an orchid. The median, modified petal of an Orchid flower.
LABIATE: Two-lipped, as a calyx or corolla divided into two unequal parts, like the lips of a mouth.
LABIUM: The lower lip of a flower with two lips.
LACCATE: Appearing as if varnished.
LACERATE: Appearing torn as the edge of a sepal or petal; irregularly cut or cleft.
LACINIA: A long slash or incision in a leaf, petal, or similar organ; one of the narrow lobes resulting from such cuts.
LACINIATE: Irregularly cut into narrow-pointed lobes; fringed; refers to petals, bracts, leaves, etc. Also laciniated, laciniose.
LACINULA: A small, narrow lobe or fringe.
LACINULATE: Having small, finely cut leaves or petals.
LACRIMIFORM: Teardrop-shaped.
LACUNA: A hole or cavity.
LACUNULOSE: Having tiny holes.
LACUSTRINE DEPOSIT: Material deposited from lake waters.
LAMELLA: A thin plate, or an organ or part resembling one. Raised, membranous outgrowths on the labellum, as in the group, Coelogyne. Also lamel.
LAMELLATE: Composed of or having lamellae. Also lamellar.
LAMINA: A thin plate or scale. Specifically, the blade or expanded part of a leaf or petal.
LANATE: Woolly; covered with long, fine, curly hairs.
LANCE-LINEAR: Long, thin, and pointed. (i.e. a lance-linear leaf)
LANCEOLATE: Long and thin and broadest below the middle, tapering to a point like a lance; lance-shaped.
LANCIFORM: Lance-shaped; long, narrow and pointed, sometimes broader at the base than at the tip.
LAND: 1. Refers to the solid surface of the earth. 2. A broad term that refers to soil, surface soil, mineral deposits, and water supplies in a certain area.
LAND-CAPABILITY CLASSIFICATION: Soil that is grouped into special units, subclasses, and/or classes according to their capability for intense use and treatments that are required for sustained use.
LANDFORM: A geomorphological term used to express earthly surface formations.
LANDSCAPE: A view or prospect of rural scenery, more or less extensive, such as seen from a single point of view.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: A person who designs and often supervises the placement of elements (plants, footpaths, etc.) in an outdoor setting.
LANDSCAPE FABRIC: Any of various porous organic or inorganic cloths or mats used to discourage weeds from growing. Also called weed mat.
LANDSCAPE-GARDENING: The art of laying out grounds and arranging trees, shrubs, flowers, paths, fountains, etc. to produce an attractive surrounding.
LANOSE: Woolly; lanate.
LANUGINOUS: Woolly or downy; covered with soft fine hairs.
LANUGO: Soft, thick downy growth.
LARVA: The first stage of an insect after hatching from the egg. (i.e. A caterpillar is a larva of a butterfly or moth.) The larvae are often more serious pests than the adults.
LATERAL: A side shoot that grows from a shoot or root; side growths, which develop from the main branches of a tree, shrub, or other plant.
LATERAL LOBES: The two lobes to either side of the midlobe of a three-lobed labellum.
LATEX: A milky, usually white or yellowish fluid produced by plants, such as Asclepias and Euphorbia.
LATH HOUSE: A framework of widely spaced narrow boards used to protect plants from the sun by providing partial shade.
LATICIFEROUS: Bearing, containing, or secreting latex.
LAWN: Space, usually level, covered with grass and kept smoothly mown, such as in front of a home, etc.
LAX: Loosely or widely spaced, as a lax cluster of flowers.
LAYERING: A method of propagation in which a shoot of a living stem is bent and pegged down to the soil. The shoot develops roots while still attached to the parent plant; once established, it is cut from the mother plant to form a separate plant, which can then be potted up. The illustration shows a shoot bent down and forming roots below the soil's surface. A stake supports the end of the shoot.
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