A botanical reference guide of morphological terms, plant structures, propagation techniques, and campus flora definitions.
Explore terms organized by botanical structure, morphology, and arboricultural concepts.
Spatulate Shaped like a spatula, with a rounded tapering blade. Botanists use this feature to describe leaf shape, surface, edge, or arrangement, which helps with plant identification.
Species The most basic rank in plant classification, identifying a specific kind of plant whose members share the same characteristics and can naturally reproduce with one another. A species is named by two words—the genus followed by the species epithet; for example, Quercus rubra is the species commonly known as red oak. While a genus groups related plants together, the species pinpoints one particular kind…
Sphaerocyst A round swollen cell, usually formed in clusters, found in the fruiting bodies of some mushrooms, characteristically found in the Russulaceae
Spike A flowering stem with flowers directly attached. This feature helps explain how flowers are arranged, how pollination happens, or how seeds begin to form.
Spore A simple reproductive body used by ferns, fungi, and other lower plants that do not produce seeds
Spur A specialized short twig of certain fruit trees on which flowers and fruit are borne. A thin spike-like part attached to a flower or other structure.
Squarrose With branches spreading and recurved at the ends. This feature helps describe plant form, function, or identification.
Standard A plant that has been artificially trained to a single-stemmed upright form
Stellate Star-shaped. This feature helps describe plant form, function, or identification.
Sterile Describing a flower that cannot produce viable seeds. This feature helps explain how flowers are arranged, how pollination happens, or how seeds begin to form.
The Purdue Arboretum is a collaboration between the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and Administrative Operations