Botanical Words Alphabetical List - MO

MOISTURE TENSION:The force at which water is held by soil. Expressed as the equivalent of a unit column of water in centimeters.

MOLECULE: A group of atoms that are bonded together.

MOLYBDENUM: A trace element present in most soils and plants.

MONADELPHOUS: Having the stamens of a flower, united into one group, as can be seen in Hibiscus.

MONANDER: A plant that has only one stamen, such as certain orchids.

MONANDROUS: Having a single stamen.

MONILIFORM: Constricted at intervals and resembling a string of beads, as certain pods, roots and stems.

MONOCARP: A plant that bears fruit once and then dies.

MONOCARPELLARY: A flower consisting of only one carpel.

MONOCARPIC: Bearing fruit once and then dying, as annual plants.

MONOCARPOUS: A flower that has a single ovary, whether simple or compound.

MONOCLINOUS: A flower that has both the stamens and pistils.

MONOCOTYLEDON: A plant that has a single seed leaf.

MONOECIOUS: Having male and female flowers on the same plant.

MONOGYNOECIAL: Formed from a single pistil of a flower, as in certain fruits.

MONOMEROUS: 1. Having only one member in each whorl (pistil, stamen, sepal, or petal), said of a flower. 2. Monocarpellary.

MONOPETALOUS: 1. Having only one petal. 2. Having the petals united into one piece by their edges or at the base.

MONOPODIAL: Having the growth of the stem or rhizome continuing in the same direction indefinitely. A habit of growth in which new leaves form from the same growing point.

MONOPODIA: An axis of growth that extends in the direction of previous growth, with lateral branches being produced beneath it, for example, as in certain coniferous trees.

MONOSEPALOUS: 1. Having the sepals united. 2. Having only one sepal.

MONOSPERM: A plant that produces only one seed.

MONOSPERMOUS: Having only one seed.

MONOSPOROUS: Having only one spore.

MONOSTICHOUS: Arranged in a single row along a stem, as certain flowers.

MONOSTYLOUS: Having only one style.

MONOSYMMETRICAL: Capable of being bisected into similar halves with reference to a single plane; bilaterally symmetrical, as in flower of the sweet pea.

MONOTOCOUS: Producing fruit only once, as annuals.

MONOTYPIC: A group consisting of a single species.

MONOVALENT CATIONS: Ions having a positive charge.

MONSTROSE: This mutation appears as randomly occurring growth from multiple growing points and usually results in a misshapen, club-like plant.

MOOR: An expanse of open, uncultivated, and more or less elevated land, often overrun with heath.

MORPHOLOGY: The science of the form and structure of animals and plants and of their organs.

MOSAIC: Unusual mottling, veining, or streaking, in the leaves of a plant, that is usually very colorful. It is usually caused by a virus.

MOTTLED LEAF: 1. A disease caused by a zinc deficiency that reduces the size of leaves and fruits in citrus plants. 2. A disease that causes the leaves of cherry trees to pucker and crinkle.

MOW: 1. A pile of hay or sheaves of grain, placed in a barn. 2. To cut down with a sharp tool (i.e. to mow grass with a lawn mower).

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