This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study
plant morphology
Phytomorphology is the study of the morphology (biology), physical form and external structure of plants.Raven, P. H., R. F. Evert, & S. E. Eichhorn. ''Biology of Plants'', 7th ed., page 9. (New York: W. H. Freeman, 2005). . This is usually cons ...
use a number of different terms to classify and identify
plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnifying lens. This page provides help in understanding the numerous other pages describing plants by their various
taxa
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
. The accompanying page—
Plant morphology
Phytomorphology is the study of the morphology (biology), physical form and external structure of plants.Raven, P. H., R. F. Evert, & S. E. Eichhorn. ''Biology of Plants'', 7th ed., page 9. (New York: W. H. Freeman, 2005). . This is usually cons ...
—provides an overview of the science of the external form of plants. There is also an alphabetical list:
Glossary of botanical terms. In contrast, this page deals with botanical terms in a
systematic manner, with some illustrations, and organized by
plant anatomy
Plant anatomy or phytotomy is the general term for the study of the internal structure of plants. Originally it included plant morphology, the description of the physical form and external structure of plants, but since the mid-20th century plant ...
and function in
plant physiology.
This glossary primarily includes terms that deal with
vascular plants (
ferns,
gymnosperms and angiosperms), particularly
flowering plants (angiosperms). Non-vascular plants (
bryophyte
The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited in s ...
s), with their different evolutionary background, tend to have separate terminology. Although plant morphology (the external form) is integrated with plant anatomy (the internal form), the former became the basis of the
taxonomic
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. A ...
description of plants that exists today, due to the few tools required to observe.
Many of these terms date back to the earliest
herbalist
Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies ...
s and
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
s, including
Theophrastus. Thus, they usually have
Greek or
Latin roots. These terms have been modified and added to over the years, and different authorities may not always use them the same way.
This page has two parts: The first deals with general plant terms, and the second with specific plant structures or parts.
General plant terms
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