Glossary

Alien/Introduced Plants: species that live outside their native range and do not have a history with community

Biome: a large naturally occurring community occupying major habitat 

Chloroplast: part of plant where photosynthesis occurs 

Cotyledon: a structure in the embryo of a seed that helps nourish the plant as it first starts to grow

Dicot Plants: subsection of angiosperms 

Ecosystem: community of interacting organisms and their physical environment

Fibrous Roots: many small branching roots

Germination: when conditions are favourable, the plant embryo within a seed begins to grow

Gravitropism:  plant’s growth response to gravity

Leaves: are the primary food-manufacturing sites of plant, capturing sunlight and converting light energy to chemical energy during photosynthesis

Monocot Plants: subsection of angiosperms 

Native Plants: natural occurring and share a history with their community

Palmate Venation: veins branch off from a common point

Parallel Venation: veins in the leaf run parallel to the main, or central vein and each other 

Petals: ring next to the flower, often  strikingly colourful 

Phloem: transports food made in mature leaves to the roots and the parts of the shoot system that don’t carry out photosynthesis, such as

developing leaves, flowers, and fruits

Phototropism: growth of a plant part toward or away from light

Pinnate Venation: veins branch off along the central vein

Primary Growth: growth in height occurs throughout life at the apical meristem

Root:  part of a plant which attaches it to the ground for support

Secondary Growth:  growth in width that occurs after the first year at the lateral meristems

Taproot: a thick central root with smaller roots branching off

Thigmotropism: a change in plant growth due to touch 

Tropism: slow growth responses that cause parts of a plant to bend or grow toward or away from a stimulus

Seed: embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering

Stems: are the parts of a plant that support leaves

Sustainability: to avoid depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance

Venation: pattern of veins in a leaf

Xylem: transports water and dissolved minerals upward from roots into shoots