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Term	Definition
Monad	Referring to pollen grains that occur singly, i.e., they separate immediately after meiosis.
Monadelphous	Referring to stamens united by their filaments into a single group.
Monocarp	A unit of the fruit of apocarpous Annonaceae (e.g., Guatteria spp. and Unonopsis spp.), Menispermaceae, Monimiaceae, Ochnaceae, and Simaroubaceae..
Monocarpy (monocarpic or monocarpous)	Referring to plants that die after a single episode of flowering and fruiting; e.g., many bambusoid Poaceae and Tachigali (Fabaceae). Same as hapaxanthic and semelparic and opposite of iteroparic, pleionanthic, or polycarpic.
Monocliny (monoclinous)	A species with functionally bisexual flowers; there is only one kind of monoclinous species. Same as homoecioius. Compare with dicliny.
Monocotyledon (monocot)	One of the two classes of angiosperms usually characterized by having one cotyledon, parallel-veined leaves, and flower parts most often in threes. In the classification of Cronquist (1981), this class is called Liliopsida. In the APG classification it is not a monophyletic group. Palms and grasses are examples of economically important monnocots.
Monoecy (monoecious)	Referring to the sexual condition of a species of plant that bears male (staminate) and (female) pistillate flowers on the same plant. This is also an example of one of the two kinds of monoclinous species. Compare with dioecious.
Monograph	A scientific publication that includes all information known about a group of plants throughout its geographic range; e.g., Flora Neotropica Monographs.
Monophyletic	A group derived from the same ancestral taxon.
Monopodial	Referring to plants with indeterminate growth along one axis. Monopodial stems and branches appear straight.
Monosymmetric flower	A flower capable of being divided into only two equal parts (mirror images) by a line passing through the middle of a flower, i.e., other lines passing the middle of the flower will not give mirror images of one another; same as zygomorphic, bilaterally symmetrical, and irregular flowers and opposite of actinomorphic, monosymmetric, radially symmetrical, and regular flowers. This term can refer to other plant parts as well.
Morichal	A Spanish name referring to a palm swamp dominated by moriche palms Mauritia flexuosa. Same as aguajal also in Spanish and burital in Portuguese.
Moss life cycle	Alternation of generations of a moss . The conspicuous, green, represents the gametophyte generation which is everything between the spore and the embryo in this illustration whereas the sporophyte is consists of the stalk and capsule elevated above the green gametophyte generation.
Mucilage	A sticky, viscous liquid; e.g., that present among the leaf bases of Rapateaceae or in canals penetrating the ovary and sepals of some Lecythidaceae.
Mucilage ducts (= mucilaginous ducts)	Longitudinally oriented ducts that penetrate the ovary and sepals of some species of Lecythis. These ducts produce a mucilage that is hypothesized as a way to protect the fruits from predation, i.e., insects and other animals get their mouth parts gummed up if they try to penetrate the fruit wall.
Mucro (mucronate)	A sharp point at the apex of a leaf or a similar structure, e.g., a bract.
Muellerian bodies (also spelled Müllerian bodies)	Glycogen-rich food bodies located on fuzzy pads (trichilia) at the base of the petiole of some species of Cecropia (Cecropiaceae). Compare with pearl bodies.
Multiple big bang phenology	A flowering strategy in which abundant flowers are produced each day for a few days at several different times of the year.
Multiple fruit	A fruit formed from the ovaries of more than one flower, e.g., the pineapple fruit which consists of the fusion of the ovaries of the flowers of an inflorescence as the fruits develop.
Mutualism	A symbiotic relationship between two organisms that benefits both; examples are the relationship of Azteca ants with species of Cecropia (the ants receive food and shelter and the plant is protected from preditors by the ants) and the relationship between mycorrhizal fungi and plants (the fungus receives carbohydrates and the plant receives nutrients).
Mycelium (plural = mycelia)	The totality of hyphae that comprise the above and below ground parts of a fungus.
Mycoheterotroph (adj.= mycoheterotrophic)	Unable to synthesize organic compounds from inorganic substrates, i.e., this kind of plant does not photosynethesize and is not green in color because it lacks chlorophyll. It is called a mycoheterotroph because it receives photosynthate from other plants through fungal ( = mycorrhizal) connections.
Mycoheterotroph (mycoheterotrophic)	A heterotrophic plant that is without chlorophyll, lives on decayed plant material, and depends on a symbiotic relationship with a fungus to obtain food.
Mycorrhiza (plural = mycorrhizae)	A mutualistic symbiotic relationship between certain fungi and the roots of many species of vascular plants. Both the fungus and the vascular plant benefit---the fungus receives carbohydrates from the plant and the plant receives receives mineral nutrients from the fungus. In order to facilitate the transfer of carbohydrate and minerals the hyphae of the fungus penetrate the roots of the vascular plant hosts.
Myrcioid embryo	A type of embryo found in the Myrtaceae in which the cotyledons are normally thin, leafy, and folded, and the narrow, cylindrical hypocotyl is about the same length as the cotyledons and encircling them. Compare with eugenioid embryo and myrtoid embryo.
Myrmecophory	Referring to ants that carry away diaspores from parent plants. The ants are usually attracted to fleshy structures associated with seeds. Same as ant dispersal.
Myrmecophyte	Referring to a plant with a symbiotic relationship with ants; in the Orchidaceae, this normally refers to a plant which has a specific species of ant inhabiting the roots or other structure such as the pseudobulb, e.g. in Calaurthron billamelatum, the pseudobulb is hollow and inhabitated by ants; in Tococa guianensis (Melastomataceae), the bases of the leaves have domatia which are inhabited by ants.
Myrtoid embryo	A variable type of embryo found in the Myrtaceae in which the hypocotyl is the same length or much longer than the cotyledons; in genera with hard seed coats, the embryo is C-shaped; in genera with membranous or submembranous seed coats, the hypocotyl often is greatly swollen, and sometimes the whole embryo forms a spiral. Compare with eugenioid embryo and myrcioid embryo.
Naked	Referring to a situation in which a part that is usually present is absent, for example, the the translation of gymnosperm is "naked seed" because the ovules and subsequent seeds are not enclosed in an ovary.
Narrowly elliptic	Referring to a two-dimensional shape with the widest point at the middle and a length to width ratio 3:1 to less than 6:1.
Narrowly oblanceolate	Narrowly oblanceolate refers to a leaf, sepal, petal, or other flat structure that is wider above the midpoint and has a length-to-width ratio of greater than 6:1.
Narrowly oblong	Referring to a two dimensional shape in which the greatest width extends throughout a middle zone at least one-third the length of the blade (in this zone the margins are more-or-less parallel) and the length to width ratio is 3:1 to less than 6:1.
Narrowly obovate	Narrowly obovate refers to a leaf, sepal, petal, or other flat structure that is wider above the midpoint and has a length-to-width ratio of 2:1 to less than 3:1.
Narrowly ovate	Narrowly ovate refers to a leaf, sepal, petal, or other flat structure that is wider at the base than at the midpoint, tapers toward the apex, and has a length-to-width ratio of 2:1 to less than 3:1.
Naturalized	Referring to an organism that is established and reproducing in areas outside of its native range, e.g., the African tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata) which is native to Africa but naturalized in the Caribbean and elsewhere.
Nectar	A sugar solution of varied composition produced by nectaries within flowers to attract pollinators or by extrafloral nectaries to attract insects that protect the plant from predation.
Nectar chamber	A chamber at the apex of the coils of zygomorphic-flowered species or at the base of the staminal tube of most Old World species and in some actinomorphic-flowered genera in the New World, e.g., for example of species of Grias. The nectar that accumulates in the nectar chambers serves as the reward that attracts pollinators to the flowers.
Nectar guide	Markings on a flower that apparently serve to guide pollinators to the nectar. Some are visible to humans, but others are apparent to humans only through ultraviolet photography. Same as honey guide, a term not recommended because bees, not plants, produce honey.
Nectar guide	Markings on a flower that apparently serve to guide pollinators to the nectar source which is the reward they receive for visiting the flower. Some are visible to humans, but others are apparent to humans only through ultraviolet photography. Same as honey guide, a term not recommended because bees, not plants, produce honey.
Nectar spur	A tubular-like projection from the sepals or petals that produce and retain nectar as a reward for pollinators; in many orchids nectar spurs are hollow, tubular projections formed at the base of the lip which contain nectar rewards for pollinators.
Nectariferous disc	A more or less fleshy and elevated part of the receptacle, situated between the perianth and the stamens or between the stamens and the gynoecium, which functions in the production of nectar. Also referred to simply as a disc.
Nectary	A tissue or structure of flowers that produces nectar.
Nectary (pl. = nectaries)	A nectar-producing structure within the flowers of some genera of neotropical Lecythidaceae.
Nectary scale	A appendage (bracteole-like) located between the flowers of some Capparidaceae upon which the nectary gland (= nectary) is located.
Neotropics (adj.= neotropical)	Referring to that part of the earth in the New World between the Tropic of Cancer at 23 degrees 27 minutes N and the Tropic of Capricorn at 23 degress 27 minutes S. These are the northern and southern latitudes at which the sun can be directly overhead at some time during the year. Same as New World tropics.
Nervio primario	Ver nervio principal
Nervio principal	Es el nervio primario de una hoja, bráctea, sépalo o pétalo. Equivalente a costa.
Nervios palmeados	Se refiere a la disposición radial de los nervios en una lámina, en la que los nervios nacen de un punto común cerca de la base
Nervios secundarios	Son aquellos nervios que nacen del nervio primario en una hoja. Equivalente a nervios laterales
New combination (= combination novum.)	A named formed from a previous name. Usually a new combination involves moving a species epithet from one genus to another genus. For example, the species Cariniana decandra Ducke was considered to be a species of Allantoma by Huang et al. ((2008) so they coined the new combination Allantoma decandra (Ducke) Huang et al.. Note that the name of the author of the original name is retained in parentheses as part of the new name.
Nocturnal	Appearing at night, e.g., the flowers of a bat-pollinated species.
Nocturnal	Appearing at night, e.g., the flowers of a bat-pollinated species.
Node	The part of the stem where buds, leaves, and or adventitious roots are produced.
Nodes swollen	Refferring to nodes that are larger in size than the stem; swollen nodes are especially characteristic of Piper (Piperaceae).
Non-cylindrical fruit	A fruit that is as long as broad or is shorter than broad.
Non-cylindrical fruit	A fruit that is as long as broad or is shorter than broad.
Non-resupinate	Turned 180° in development; e.g., flowers of most orchids in which the lip originates in the uppermost position but twists in such a way that the labellum faces downward at anthesis. Some orchids do not twist, thus the labellum faces up at anthesis.
Nucellus	The tissue that surrounds the megasporophyte or the embryo sac. It is located between the embryo sac and the integument or integuments.
Nucellus	The tissue that surrounds the megasporophyte or the embryo sac. It is located between the embryo sac and the integument or integuments.
Nut	A hard, indehiscent, unilocular, single-seeded fruit arising from a simple or compound ovary.
Nutant	Nodding,
Nutant	Nodding.
Nutlet	A small nut; often used to refer to one of the four parts of the mature fruit of some species of Boraginaceae, Lamiaceae, and Verbenaceae.
Ob-	A prefix meaning opposite or against, e.g., an obovate leaf blade is the opposite of an ovate leaf blade.
Obcordate	Shaped like an upside down heart.
Obdiplostemony (obdiplostemonous)	With two series of stamens with twice the number of stamens as petals and those of the outer series inserted opposite the petals and those of the inner series inserted opposite the sepals. Obdiplostemony is sometimes very difficult to determine in flowers at anthesis but become apparent with microtome and SEM studies of bud development (Endress, 2010).
Oblanceolate	Referring to a leaf, bract, sepal, petal, or other structure in which the greatest width is distal to the midpoint and the length-to-width ratio is 3:1 to less than 6:1.
Oblate	Spheroidal but flattened at the ends; i.e., slightly broader than long. With the widest point at the middle and the length to width ratio 0.75/1 or less. This term can also refer to both three-dimensional a two-dimensional shapes.
Oblate	A sphere that is flattened at both poles or a sphere that is shorter in height than it is in width. The term can refer to both three- and two-dimensional shapes.
Obliquely zygomorphic	An extension from the abaxial side of the androecium of Cariniana.
Oblong	Referring to a two dimensional shape in which the greatest width extends throughout a middle zone at least one-third the length of the blade (in this zone the margins are more-or-less parallel) and the length to width ratio is 2:1 to less than 3:1. Other types of oblong shapes are determined by the length to width ratio.
Oblongoid	A solid form oblong in outline or visualized as a cylinder but more-or-less rounded at the base and the apex.
Obovate	Obovate refers to a leaf, sepal, petal, or other flat structure that is wider above the midpoint and has a length-to-width ratio of 1.5:1 to less than 2:1.
Obtuse	Blunt, usually referring to the apex or the base of a flattened structure (such as a leaf, bract, or petal) in which the two sides are straight and, when they meet, form an angle greater than 90°.
Ocrea	A structure formed of stipules fused into a sheath and surrounding the stem; i.e., a diagnostic character of the Polygonaceae;

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