- accessory fruit
- fruit derived from tissues other than the ovary
- aggregate fruit
- fruit that develops from multiple carpels in the same flower
- aleurone
- single layer of cells just inside the seed coat that secretes enzymes upon germination
- androecium
- sum of all the stamens in a flower
- antipodals
- the three cells away from the micropyle
- apomixis
- process by which seeds are produced without fertilization of sperm and egg
- coleoptile
- covering of the shoot tip, found in germinating monocot seeds
- coleorhiza
- covering of the root tip, found in germinating monocot seeds
- cotyledon
- fleshy part of seed that provides nutrition to the seed
- cross-pollination
- transfer of pollen from the anther of one flower to the stigma of a different flower
- cutting
- method of asexual reproduction where a portion of the stem contains nodes and internodes is placed in moist soil and allowed to root
- dormancy
- period of no growth and very slow metabolic processes
- double fertilization
- two fertilization events in angiosperms; one sperm fuses with the egg, forming the zygote, whereas the other sperm fuses with the polar nuclei, forming endosperm
- endocarp
- innermost part of fruit
- endosperm
- triploid structure resulting from fusion of a sperm with polar nuclei, which serves as a nutritive tissue for embryo
- endospermic dicot
- dicot that stores food reserves in the endosperm
- epicotyl
- embryonic shoot above the cotyledons
- exine
- outermost covering of pollen
- exocarp
- outermost covering of a fruit
- gametophyte
- multicellular stage of the plant that gives rise to haploid gametes or spores
- grafting
- method of asexual reproduction where the stem from one plant species is spliced to a different plant
- gravitropism
- response of a plant growth in the same direction as gravity
- gynoecium
- the sum of all the carpels in a flower
- hypocotyl
- embryonic axis above the cotyledons
- intine
- inner lining of the pollen
- layering
- method of propagating plants by bending a stem under the soil
- megagametogenesis
- second phase of female gametophyte development, during which the surviving haploid megaspore undergoes mitosis to produce an eight-nucleate, seven-cell female gametophyte, also known as the megagametophyte or embryo sac.
- megasporangium
- tissue found in the ovary that gives rise to the female gamete or egg
- megasporogenesis
- first phase of female gametophyte development, during which a single cell in the diploid megasporangium undergoes meiosis to produce four megaspores, only one of which survives
- megasporophyll
- bract (a type of modified leaf) on the central axis of a female gametophyte
- mesocarp
- middle part of a fruit
- micropropagation
- propagation of desirable plants from a plant part; carried out in a laboratory
- micropyle
- opening on the ovule sac through which the pollen tube can gain entry
- microsporangium
- tissue that gives rise to the microspores or the pollen grain
- microsporophyll
- central axis of a male cone on which bracts (a type of modified leaf) are attached
- monocarpic
- plants that flower once in their lifetime
- multiple fruit
- fruit that develops from multiple flowers on an inflorescence
- nectar guide
- pigment pattern on a flower that guides an insect to the nectaries
- non-endospermic dicot
- dicot that stores food reserves in the developing cotyledon
- perianth
- (also, petal or sepal) part of the flower consisting of the calyx and/or corolla; forms the outer envelope of the flower
- pericarp
- collective term describing the exocarp, mesocarp, and endocarp; the structure that encloses the seed and is a part of the fruit
- plumule
- shoot that develops from the germinating seed
- polar nuclei
- found in the ovule sac; fusion with one sperm cell forms the endosperm
- pollination
- transfer of pollen to the stigma
- polycarpic
- plants that flower several times in their lifetime
- radicle
- original root that develops from the germinating seed
- scarification
- mechanical or chemical processes to soften the seed coat
- scion
- the part of a plant that is grafted onto the root stock of another plant
- scutellum
- type of cotyledon found in monocots, as in grass seeds
- self-pollination
- transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma of the same flower
- senescence
- process that describes aging in plant tissues
- simple fruit
- fruit that develops from a single carpel or fused carpels
- sporophyte
- multicellular diploid stage in plants that is formed after the fusion of male and female gametes
- suspensor
- part of the growing embryo that makes connection with the maternal tissues
- synergid
- type of cell found in the ovule sac that secretes chemicals to guide the pollen tube towards the egg
- tegmen
- inner layer of the seed coat
- testa
- outer layer of the seed coat
- vernalization
- exposure to cold required by some seeds before they can germinate