Glossary

Acidity

Particular composition of the soil which has a ph lower than 7. The acidity of the soil can depend on various factors. Soil suitable for plants c.d. acidophilic (e.g. azalea, rhododendron, heather, camellia, lily, ferns, gardenias, kalmia).

Aphid

Insects that attack many annual and perennial plants. They absorb the sap from plants using the mouthparts especially from the most tender parts of the plant, such as the younger shoots. They cause the emission of a sugary substance, so-called honeydew, which favors the development of fumaggini.

Agamic (multiplication)

It consists in the detachment of a part of the plant to form a new subject similar to the mother plant.

Tree

Plant with stem, starting from which, at variable height, the branches originate.

Alkalinity

Particular composition of the soil which has excessive salts and alkalis.

Annuals

Plants that bloom and produce fruit in a single vegetative cycle until they die in a single year.

Fungicide

Substance used in the fight against fungi and bacteria.

Pesticide

Substance used to combat plant parasites.

Shrub

Perennial plant of limited size with branches that start at ground level.

Apex

Terminal part of a branch, a root, a leaf or a petal.

Withering

Phenomenon that manifests itself in lack of water with the sagging of leaves and tender shoots. If the withering lasts for a long time it can lead to the death of the plant.

Bract

Leaf transformed into different shapes, usually in order to attract insects or to protect the most delicate organs of the plant. They usually have very bright colors (such as in the poinsettia).

Bratteola

Small bract.

Branch

Large branch of fruit trees that originates from the trunk and is permanent.

Calcareous (soil)

We speak of calcareous soil when it contains high quantities of limestone (sedimentary rock composed mainly of calcium carbonate).

Topping

Shortening of the branches. In another sense, removal of the apical part of the shoots.

Chlorosis

Yellowing of the leaves due to the lack of chlorophyll.

Flaky Cochineal

Very visible parasite due to the large white flakes, usually placed near the trunk and on the younger leaves that make the plant sticky, giving rise to fumaggini.

Fertilizer

Organic or inorganic substance that is added to the soil to increase its fertility. Usually chemical fertilizers are trivalent, i.e. they contain three main substances (so-called macroelements) which are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

Bark

It is the outermost part of the stem and roots.

Dehiscent

Fruit that once it reaches maturity opens to drop the seeds.

Drainage

Activity with which the soil is made permeable to water. This is usually achieved by adding materials such as agri-perlite, pumice stone, polystyrene, volcanic lapilli, pebbles, etc. to the ground.

Decide

These are the plants that lose their leaves during the winter period.

Eriofidi

They are small mites, white in color, which feed at the expense of the tissues and form characteristic galls, and this especially on some species of maple.

Little family

Fungus that causes root rot. The attacked plants have yellowish leaves and in the autumn period, at the base of the trunk, they present numerous groups of edible mushrooms (so-called nails or small families).

Foliage

The complex of leaves of a plant.

Fumaggini

Black fungi that develop on the trunk or leaves. They proliferate especially in humid environments by exploiting the sugary substances (honeydew) emitted by plants almost always caused by the bite of insects (eg aphids).

Float

Malformation of the plant caused by insect bites. Typical is that of the maple caused by the sting of the eriofidi.

Gamic (multiplication)

Sowing is the most popular method of multiplying plants. This reproduction technique takes the name of gamic multiplication, that is by means of seeds, and differs from agamic multiplication, consisting of other types of multiplication (including for example cutting, grafting, offshoots, etc.). The most important difference between these forms consists in the fact that while the plants obtained with gamic multiplication are usually very similar to the plant that generated the seeds, but they can also differ significantly from it, vice versa the subjects obtained by agamic way have identical characteristics to that of the mother plant.

Kind

Systematic category containing several related species.

Germinability

Properties of germinating that the seeds keep for a longer or shorter time. It differs from the germinative energy which relates to the vigor with which the seed gives life to the new plant. It may happen, therefore, that a seed, although able to germinate, has little vigor, and this usually depends on the lack of freshness of the seed.

Grafting

Grafting is one of the most used techniques for plant reproduction. A characteristic that distinguishes it, as in general all agamic propagations, is that of guaranteeing uniformity of species, otherwise not achievable through natural reproduction. Other advantages of this method are crop uniformity, disease resistance, adaptation to climatic conditions.

Broadleaf

Plants with flattened and broad leaves, deciduous or persistent leaves.

Lobe

Part of organ with rounded shape.

Margotta

A type of agamic multiplication consisting in making the branch of a plant root by cutting it and wrapping it with soil or other material kept moist.

Marza

The branch or bud that, in the grafting technique, detaches from one plant and is grafted onto another plant.

Necrosis (of wood)

Disease caused by a fungus that causes the degeneration of the wood by preventing the sap from rising.

Page

Upper or lower surface of the leaf.

Parasite

Insect, bacterium, virus or even plant that live by exploiting other organisms.

Peduncle

Part of the branch that supports the fruit or flower.

Poise

Aspect assumed by a plant during its development.

Rootstock

The rootstock (subject, frank, wild) is a plant usually produced from seed or also from offshoot, layering, cutting, and has the function of hosting the graft (gentile, object, scion).

Postarella

Small hole made with the hoe in which more seeds are inserted, which will give rise to more plants. Usually only one of these plants is cultivated after birth and the others are uprooted.

Pruning

Action aimed at regulating the growth and formation of plants. Used to increase the production of fruit plants.

Raceme

Inflorescence formed by an elongated main axis on which numerous flowers are inserted. It is also a synonym for cluster.

Root

Plant organ usually underground which has the function of anchoring to the ground and of absorption and conduction of lymph.

Red spider

Widespread mite that attacks many plants. It pricks the leaves to suck the sap.

Repotting

Operation by which the plants are transferred from a smaller pot into a larger one.

Rhythidoma

It is the outermost part of the cortex. Also called zest.

Rhizome

Stem that develops underground. Its function is to accumulate reserve substances that allow it to overcome the most unfavorable moments for the plant (winter, drought, ...) and to facilitate its vegetative multiplication.

Basal rosette

Rosette located at the base of the stem.

Rustica (plant)

Rustic is defined as a plant that adapts well even to difficult conditions, both in terms of climate and with reference to the soil.

Peel

Outermost part of the cortex.

Sunburn (of the leaves)

Disease that mainly affects maples and is frequently caused by the sun and wind. Sometimes it is caused by the use of pesticides.

Seed

Organ composed of embryo and reserve substances with the function of reproducing the species.

Sowing

Sowing is the most popular method of multiplying plants. The most important difference between these forms consists in the fact that while the plants obtained with gamic multiplication are usually very similar to the plant that generated the seeds, but they can also differ significantly from it, vice versa the subjects obtained by agamic way have identical characteristics to that of the mother plant.

Evergreen (plant)

These are the plants that do not completely lose their leaves during the winter period. Every year the plant loses part of the leaves, replaced by new ones, so that the plant never remains completely bare.

Sessile

It is said of a leaf or flower that starts directly from the branch.

Siliqua

Dehiscent fruit whose seeds are inserted on a longitudinal septum.

Species

Systematic category where similar and interfertile plants converge, that is, they can be crossed. More related species are then grouped into genera.

Spore

Cell or group of cells that germinate to generate a new individual.

Substrate

Complex of substances in which plants can find the essential nutrients for their growth.

Cutting

Type of agamic multiplication consisting in rooting lignified or herbaceous portions of branches in a suitable soil. Leaf and root cuttings are also possible.

Non-woven fabric

Very light and economical synthetic fiber material to be placed directly on garden plants or vegetables to be protected from the cold.>

Tracheoverticillosis

Disease caused by a fungus that attacks many plants causing considerable damage. This parasite occludes the conducting vessels preventing the sap from circulating and causing the drying of the leaves first and then the branches.

Tubercle

Small enlargement that can form on a leaf, fruit, or stem.

Variety

Systematic category of lesser importance than the species. That is, each species contains more varieties that can be distinguished by some characters. Varieties can be spontaneous or artificial.

Aleurodidi

Commonly called white flies, they are small insects with wings, of a pure white color. They are equipped with a stinging sucking apparatus, and generally attack the plants in large numbers, under the leaves you can usually see numerous eggs. They are very difficult to eradicate. as insecticides kill the adults but not the larvae in the eggs.

Pod

Synonym of legume. This is a fruit consisting of two valves; when it is mature the valves open lengthwise.

Bulb

Transformation of the stem of the plant into the underground part, suitable for storing reserve nutrients.

Chalice

External part under the flower, consisting of some sepals.

Claved

It is said of a club-shaped petal, with a long thin petiole and an outer part that widens like a spoon.

Cochineal

Parasite of plants with a stinging-sucking apparatus, the colonies of cochineal are easily noticed as they are often covered with a white, sticky layer. It is easily eradicated with the use of white oil mixed with pyrethrum-based insecticides.

Deciduous

It is said of leaves that detach from the plant in the cold period of the year; generally before falling they change color.

Dioico

It is called a plant that produces flowers with male organs and flowers with female organs on different plants.

Bone meal

Flour obtained from finely chopped animal bones, is used as a fertilizer to amend the soil of calcium, of which the bones are particularly rich.

Ferns

Class of herbaceous plants that reproduce by means of spores, produced by the fertile leaves, called sporophiles; These plants are especially popular in poorly sunny places.

Humus

Substance consisting of organic material completely decomposed by atmospheric agents or by the action of insects and bacteria.

Hybrid

Plant species or variety derived from the crossing between different species or varieties; Generally, plants with flowers of particular colors, resistant to pests and diseases, or which bear fruit with more abundance, are selected through hybridization.

Ovato

Similar in shape to an egg: they are said to have leaves that have the lower part wider than the upper one

Pubescent

Covered with fine fuzz.

Rhizome

Underground part of the plant suitable for storing reserve nutrients, consisting of part of the stem that has undergone metamorphosis.

-">Rosette

Group of leaves which on a stem or branch are inserted at the same level and arranged in the shape of a circle and superimposed.

-">Scapo

Stem devoid of leaves that supports the flowers, which can be found along the entire length of the scape, or only at one end.

Sepal

leaf modified to support the flower and contain its petals, usually of a different color from that of normal leaves.

Sessile

It is said of a part of the plant that "sits" directly on the others; for example a sessile leaf has no petiole, is directly attached to the stem that carries it, and sometimes wraps it.

Síliqua

Dehiscent fruit whose seeds are inserted on a longitudinal septum.

-">Sporocarp

In the ferns that are part of the hydropteridal order it is a capsule that contains numerous spores.

Stamens

Parts of the flower, specifically the male one, consisting of modified leaves. They usually consist of a filament, at the end of which a kind of sac (anther) is fixed, inside which the pollen grains form and mature.

Tomentoso

It is said to be part of a plant covered with tomentum, or a set of small, short and thin hairs.

Achene

Woody fruit, consisting of a single seed, generally with papery or feathery wings, suitable for dispersing the seed with the winds

Anther

Part of the flower, in particular of the stamen, in which the pollen grains mature.

Ginandrio

Synonym for column. In orchids it is an organ consisting of the fusion of the pistil with the stamens.

Lively

It is said of perennial plants, which develops only in spring and summer, going into vegetative rest in the most rigid periods of the year. These plants can also have a well developed aerial part, which is sometimes preserved even during the winter, if the season is not particularly cold.

Stroke

It is said of a leaf consisting of small leaves; inmaripennate are the leaves made up of an odd number of leaflets, while the leaves are paripennate made up of an even number of segments.

Lithophyte

A plant is called a lithophyte that is able to grow on or between rocks, where the soil is only a few millimeters thick.

Agree

It is said of plants that emit branches or suckers in the part of the stem closest to the ground.

Ciazio

Particular inflorescence made up of unisexual flowers, closed inside a pocket made up of bracts; among the flowers. This type of inflorescence often expels the seeds throwing them at even considerable distances.

Sarmentoso

It is said of a shrub that develops elongated branches, with widely spaced internodes, sometimes erroneously described as climbers.

Hypathodio

Particular inflorescence, generally present in the Moraceae family. It groups small flowers in a flat disk, around which there are fleshy rays, which give the inflorescence the appearance of a daisy with few petals.

Ovato

Similar in shape to an egg: they are said to have leaves that have the lower part wider than the upper one

Pachycaule

Pachycaule is any shrub or tree that develops unc audex, that is, a thick and enlarged, succulent, bottle-shaped stem.

Caudex

Succulent stem, swollen to form a kind of bottle.

Acid

Soil with a Ph value lower than 7; peat is an example of highly acidic soil; soils heavily washed by rain are often acidic.

Alkaline

Soil with a Ph reaction greater than 7; alkaline soils are usually rich in calcium.

Reinforcement

Operation with which, with the help of a hoe, the roots of a plant are covered to allow greater development.

Femminellation

Practice that consists in the elimination of new sprouts that develop at the bifurcation of the branches, widely used to increase production in horticultural crops, for example in tomatoes.

Glossary: ​​Dormancy

Or vegetative rest, it is said of the period in which bulbs and tubers, or plants with rhizomatous roots, stop the development of the aerial part, which dries up until it disappears. It generally occurs in seasons with extreme temperatures, in the middle of summer or in the middle of winter.