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keel - n. (AS. ceol, ship) the folded edge or
ridge of any structure.
labiate - a. (L. labium, lip) lipped, as in a calyx or corolla. lacerate - a. (L. lacer, mangled, lacerated) said of a margin torn irregularly. laciniate - a. (L. lacinia, a hem) cut into narrow, jagged lobes or segments. lacunate - a. (L. lacuna, cavity) with air spaces or chambers in the midst of tissue. lagoon - n. (It. And Sp. laguna, fr. L. lacuna, a ditch, pool, fr. lacus, lake) a shallow lake or pond, especially one connected with a larger body of water; an area of shallow salt water separated from the sea by sand dunes; the area of water surrounded by an atoll, or circular coral reef. lake - n. (ME. lake, lak; AS. lacu, a lake, pool; L. lacus, a hollow, a basin, tub, pool, lake) an inland body of water, usually fresh water, formed by glaciers, river drainage, etc., larger than a pool or pond. lamellate - a., made up of thin plates or lamina. lamina - n. (L. lamina, a thin peice of metal or wood) the expanded, blade part, of a foliar leaf, petal, etc. lanate - a. (L. lana, wool) wooly, with long intertwined, curled hairs. lanceolate - a. (L. lancea, a lance) shaped like a lance; broadest toward the base and narrowed to the apex, several times longer than wide. leaf - n. (ME. leef fr. OE. leaf, akin to OHG. loub, leaf, foliage) a lateral outgrowth from a stem that constitutes part of the foliage of a plant and functions primarily in food manufacture by photosynthesis. legume - n. (L. legere, to gather) a 1-locular fruit, usually dehiscent along two sutures, bearing seeds along the ventral suture; a leguminous plant. lemma - n. (Gr. lemma, husk) the lower (abaxial), and larger, of two membranous bracts enclosing the flower in grass. lenticel - n. (L. lens, lentis, lentil) corky spots on young bark, arising in relation to epidermal stomates. lenticular - a. (L. lenticula, a lentil) shaped like a double-convex lens. lignify - vt., to convert into wood or woody tissue; to become wood or woody by chemical and physical changes in the cell walls that convert some or all of the constituents into lignin or lignocellulose. lignin - n. (L. lignum, wood) organic substances which act as binders for the cellulose fibers in wood and certain plants, and adds strength and stiffness to the cell walls. Chemical structure of lignin is composed of a polymer of high carbon content but distinct from the carbonates. Consists of C6,C3 units. ligulate - a. (L. ligula, little tongue) having or pertaining to ligules. ligule - n., hyaline extension of the leaf sheath on the adaxial side of the leaf. limb - n. (AS. lim, limb) the spreading part of a synsepalous calyx or sympetalous corolla, usually referring only to the calyx or corolla lobes, sometimes to their lips. limnology - n., the scientific study of physical, chemical, meteorological, and biological conditions in fresh waters. linear - a. (L. linea, line) long and slender with parallel or nearly parallel sides. lip - n. (AS. lippa, lippe, lip) the upper or lower part of a bilabiate calyx or corolla. lobulate - a. (Gr. lobos, lobe) divided into small lobes. locule - n. (L. loculus, a cell, box) a compartment of an anther or an ovary. loculicidal - a. (L. loculus, a cell, box; caedere, to cut) dehiscent dorsally down middle of carpels. locular - a. (L. loculus, a cell, box) having the nature of, or consisting of cells. lodicule - n. (L. lodicula, coverlet) a scale at base of an ovary in grasses, supposed to represent part of a perianth. loment - n. (L. lomentum, bean meal) a fruit of some legumes, contracted between the seeds, the 1-seeded segments separating at fruit maturity. long-day plant - a plant that requires more than 12 hours of daylight before flowering will occur. lunate - a. (L. luna, moon; -ate) crescent-shaped.
macrophyte - n. (Gr. makros, large; phyton, plant) a member of the macroscopic plant life especially of a body of water; large aquatic plant; the term 'aquatic macrophyte' has no taxonomic significance. macroscopic - a. (Gr. makros, large; skopein, to view) items large enough to be observed by the naked eye. marcescent - a. (L. marcescere, to wither) withering but remaining persistent. marsh - n. (ME. mersh, meadowland) a tract of wet land principally inhabitated by emergent herbaceous vegetation. membranous - a. (L. membrana, mem- brane) having a thin, soft, pliable texture. mericarp - one of the two carpels that resembles achenes and forms the schizocarp of an umbelliferous plant. mesic - a. (Gr. mesos, middle) conditioned by temperate moist climate; neither xerix nor hydric; pertaining to conditions of medium moisture supply. microphyllidious - small, leaf-shaped. mire - n. - synonymous with any peat-accumulating wetland. moniliform - a. (L. monile, necklace; forma, shape) constricted laterally and appearing beadlike. monoclinous - a. (Gr. monos, single, alone; kline, bed) having both stamens and pistils in the same flower. monocotyledons - n. (Gr. monos, single; kotyledon, cup-shaped hollow) a class of angiosperms having an embryo with only one cotyledon, part of the flower usually in threes, leaves with parallel veins, and scattered vascular bundles. monoecious - a. (Gr. monos, single; oikos, house) a plant having unisexual male and female flowers on the same individual; said of a plant having unisexual flowers. monotypic - a. (Gr. monos, only; typos, type) a plant of only one type. moor - n. (ME. mor, fr. OE mor; akin MD. moer, mire, swamp) chiefly British: an extensive area of open rolling infertile land consisting of sand, rock, or peat usually covered with heather, bracken, coarse grass and sphagnum moss; a boggy area of wasteland usually dominated by grasses and sedges growing in a thick layer of peat. morphology - n. (G. morphologie, fr. Gr. morph - (fr. morphe, form) + G. -logie, -logy, more at form) a branch of biology that deals with the form and structure of animals and plants, a study of the forms, relationships, metamorphoses, and phylogenetic development of organs apart from their functions. mucro - n. (L. mucro, sharp point) a stiff or sharp point abruptly terminating an organ; a small awn. muricate - a. (L. muricatus, having sharp points) having a rough surface texture owing to small, sharp projections. |