Keys Dictionary

Word	Meaning
Stipule	An outgrowth, usually in pairs, at the base of the petiole. Stipules may be leaf-like, spinelike or scale-like. Stipules typically act as a protective covering for a new leaf bud. See interpetiolar stipules and intrapetiolar stipules.
Stolon	A shoot that grows along the ground, rooting at each node and possibly shooting at such nodes.
Stoma	A pore in the epidermis of a leaf and a herbaceous stem, used primarily for transpiration.
Stomata	Pores in the epidermis of a leaf and a herbaceous stem. Their function is primarily transpiration.
Strigose	Bearing stiff hairs or bristles, pressed together.
Stub branchlet	A small, short branch that will not itself divide, and may bear leaves, flowers and fruits.
Style	The stalk bearing the stigma, borne on the ovary.
Stylopodium	A structure just above the ovary or ovaries, when multiple styles are present, consisting of the united and joined sections of the styles.
Subdioecious	Where dioecious plants may also present male and female flowers on one tree, or bisexual flowers.
Subglobose	Not quite globe-shaped.
Subligneous	Partially or somewhat woody.
Sub-opposite	Substantially opposite, but not precisely so.
Suborbicular	Nearly orbicular, being flat and almost circular in outline.
Subspecies	A subspecies is a taxonomic rank below species, reflecting minor genetic variations in morphology, often caused by diverse geographical or ecological distributions. The abbreviation for subspecies is subsp.
Subterminal	Just below the apex.
Subterminal branching	Branches grow out from just below the apex of the parent branch.
Subulate	Thin and tapering to a point, awl-shaped or needle-shaped.
Subvaginate	Refer to vaginate.
Succulent	A plant that accumulates and stores water in thick, fleshy tissue, typically leaves, stems and roots. Storage of water enables succulents to survive during extensive periods low rainfall. Succulents are common in many, but not all, rocky or arid landscapes.
Sucker	A shoot arising from roots below ground and separate from the main stem.
Suffrutex	A plant with a large, woody underground stem, that produces annual shoots above ground that bear leaves, flowers and fruits.
Suffrutices	Referring to more than one plant with a large, woody underground stems, that produce annual shoots above ground that bear leaves, flowers and fruits.
Sulcate	Furrowed or grooved.
Superior ovary	The sepals, petals and stamens are inserted below the ovary. See inferior ovary and hypogynous.
Supra-	Above
Supra-axillary	Growing above an axil, not from the axil.
Suture	The seam of union between contiguous valves or carpels of a fruit, along which dehiscent fruits split open to release seeds.
Syconium	A fig is a syconium. Each fig is a receptacle that has enlarged into a sphere with a fleshy outer layer, and a hollow interior that contains numerous tiny flowers, or florets.
Symbiosis	Dissimilar organisms living together for mutual advantage.
Sympodial	Not having a main stem.