Arboretum Botanical Glossary

Umbel A flat topped or globe shaped flower cluster in which the individual flower stalks are of nearly equal length and arise from a common point Did you know? Carrot-family flowers form umbels, flat or rounded clusters that look like tiny umbrellas.

Umbilicate Having a small depression, like a navel. This feature helps describe plant form, function, or identification.

Umbo A blunt rounded protuberance, as at the center of some fruits or mushroom caps

Umbonate Possessing an UMBO (a blunt rounded protuberance, as at the center of some fruits or mushroom caps)

Utricle A small fruit, thin-walled, one-seeded and more or less inflated like a bladder.

Utricular Of or pertaining to a Utricle; bladder-like. This feature helps describe plant form, function, or identification.

Total Annual Benefits is the estimated dollar value of selected environmental benefits a tree provides each year, such as removing air pollution, reducing stormwater runoff, and sequestering carbon as it grows. This value is an annual estimate and is separate from the tree’s replacement or structural value. Ecosystem service estimates were generated using i-Tree Eco , a peer-reviewed urban forest assessment tool developed by the…

Valve One of the segments of a dehiscent fruit, separating from other such segments at maturity

Variety A subdivision of a species. This term helps classify plants so they can be identified and discussed clearly.

Venation Pattern of veins. Botanists use this feature to describe leaf shape, surface, edge, or arrangement, which helps with plant identification. Did you know? Leaf venation patterns help separate monocots, which often have parallel veins, from dicots, which usually have branching veins.