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Term	Definition
Chalaza	The part of an ovule or seed opposite the micropyle. In this part of the embryo sac the integument(s) are not differentiated from the nucellus..
Chambered pith	Referring to a pith that has chambers in the stem caused by septations at right angles to the long axis.
Character	A morphological, anatomical, or molecular feature of an organism that helps distinguish a taxon from other taxa.
Character state	The variation in a character of a plant, e.g., flower color is a character and if there are only blue and white flowers in a given species these two colors represent character states.
Chasmogamy (chasmogamous)	Referring to flowers that open before fertilization and usually are cross-pollinated.
Chevron	A V-shaped pattern most commonly associated with leaves.
Chimera	An animal or a plant with genetically and morphologically different tissue on the same plant. The term is derived from Greek mythology and refers to a mythological animal composed of a lion, goat, and a serpent. Sometimes this term is also used to describe a plant derived from grafting, e.g., stems of Brazil nut trees grafted onto the root stock of another Brazil nut tree resulting in parts of the same tree with different genetic makeups. In Lecythidaceae, we use this term to describe the spontaneous occurence of anomalous flowers on a plant with normal flowers and assume that this difference is caused by a mutation.
Chiropterochory (chiropterochorous)	Referring to diaspores that are carried away from the mother plant by bats. Most bat-dispersed seeds dispersed by bats have either berry-like fruits or fruits with the seeds provided with a fleshy associated structure such as an aril. A few other species have the fruits surrounded by a fleshy perianth (e.g., the diaspores of species of Cecropia). Same as bat-dispersed.
Chiropterophily	Pollination by bats. There are two main types of bat pollinaton. In one type the bats are relatively small and capable of hovering in front of flowers, these bats occupy the same nich occupied by hummingbirds during the day and belong to the subfamily Glossophaginae. Most of the flowers pollinated by this group of bats have tubular or bell-shaped flowers but they do visit flowers of the other type as well. In the other type, the bats land on the flowers and consist of many flowers aggregated into heads (e.g., species of Parkia) or are brush-like (e.g., Pseudobombax munguba).
Choripetalous corolla	Haviing petals free from one another. Same as polypetalous; opposite of gamopetalous and sympetalous.
Ciliate (diminutive = ciliolate)	Fringed on margin with straight trichomes finer than those of a fimbriate margin.
Cinereous	Ash-colored or light gray.
Circumaustral	Referring to a plant or animal distributed around the high latitudes of the southern hemisphere.
Circumferentially winged seed	A wing completely surrounding the circumference of the seed.
Circumscissile capsule	Dehiscing via a line around a fruit with the top usually falling off like the lid of a jar.
Circumscissile capsule	Referring to a fruit that opens by an operculum.
Clade	A monophyletic evolutionary line.
Cladode	A flattened, green, photosynthetic stem; e.g., in some Cactaceae.
Clasping	At least partially enclosing the axis; e.g., the base of a leaf that partially surrounds the stem on which it is borne. Same as amplexicaul.
Clavate	Club-shaped; e.g., in the Lecythidaceae many of the stamens of zygomorphic-flowered species are clavate.
Clavuncle	The expanded distal part of the style, including the stigma, in some species of Apocynaceae. Same as style head.
Claw (clawed)	Referring to a structure, such as a petal, that is abruptly constricted toward the base (having a claw). Same as unguiculate.
Cleistogamy (cleistogamous)	Referring to flowers that do not open and usually are self-fertilized.
Clipper pole (= plant pruner)	Clipper poles are used to collect plants from trees, epiphytes, and lianas that are too high to collect from the ground. We prefer aluminum poles because they are lighter than fiber glass and wood poles. In addition, the fiber glass poles tend to split at the bottom of the pole. The clilpper pole cutting head should be as light as possible because it is extremely difficult to manipulate a pole off the vertical if the cutting head is too heavy. In addition, a heavy clipper head tends to bend the poles; thus making them much more difficut to handle. For more information about plant collecting see Tropical Plant Collecting: From the Filed to the Internet. This book can be purchased at: http://tecceditora.com/ or Amazon.com.
Clone	A population of plants produced by asexual reproduction resulting in individual members with the same genetic composition.
Cloud forest	A mid-elevation vegetation type often covered in clouds. Cloud forest is dominated by low, snarled trees covered with mosses and liverworts. Species of orchids are abundant in this vegetation type and tree ferns are often conspicuous. Depending on local climate, distance from the sea, and isolation from other mountain ranges, cloud forest can be found between 500 and 4000 meters but it is most frequent between 1000 and 2000 meters.
Cloud forest	A mid-elevation vegetation type often covered in clouds. Cloud forest is dominated by trees covered with mosses and liverworts. Species of orchids are abundant in this vegetation type and tree ferns are often conspicuous. Depending on local climate, distance from the sea, and isolation from other mountain ranges, cloud forest can be found between 500 and 4000 meters but it is most frequent between 1000 and 2000 meters.
Coevolution	A reciprocal process in which adaptations of one organism promote adaptations in another; e.g., the nocturnal anthesis of a cup-shaped flower and the elongated snout of a bat that pollinates that flower.
Coherent	Coming into contact but not fused; e.g., the anthers of species of Asteraceae and Campanulaceae. Same as connivent.
Coiled pedicel	A pedicel that coils like a spring after the fruits start to form, a mechanism found in a few species of plants and functions to bring the fruits closer to the ground, presumably to make it easier for animals to disperse the seeds.
Coleoptera	An order of insects including the beetles and weevils. Species of Coleoptera, can be pollinators and predators of plants.
Collecting equipment	The equipment needed to collect plants in both temperate and tropical regions. Access the attached PDF for a list of essential equipment used by the senior author of this glossary. For more information about plant collecting see Tropical Plant Collecting: From the Filed to the Internet. This book can be purchased at: http://tecceditora.com/ or Amazon.com.
Collection number	A unique number assigned to a plant collection that includes the name of the collector and a number. Collection numbers should start from 0 and continue sequentially throughout the career of the collector. The collection number of the collection represented by the attached label is Mori et al. 20100. Note that when there are more than two collectors all but the person's name who numbers the collection is reduced to et al. (= and others). For more information about plant collecting see Tropical Plant Collecting: From the Filed to the Internet. This book can be purchased at: http://tecceditora.com/ or Amazon.com.
Colleter	In Lecythidaceae, a multicellular, unbranched glandlike structure found along leaf blade margins. Up to the present only Cariniana estrellensis has been shown to have colleters.
Columella (pl. = columellae)	A woody outgrowth that descends into the fruit from the interior, middle of the operculum.
Column	In the Orchidaceae, the structure formed by the fused androecium and gynoecium.
Column foot	In the Orchidaceae, the fleshy continuation of the base of the column, often more prominent in fruit.
Coma (Comose)	Referring to a structure, such as a seed, the bears tufts of hairs. Wind-dispersed seeds are often comose.
Complanate	A sphere that is flattened at both poles.
Complanate	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.
Complete flower	A flower with all whorls of floral parts; i.e., calyx, corolla, stamen(s), and gynoecium. Compare with incomplete flower.
Compound	Referring to an organ, such as a leaf, which is divided into smaller units; i.e., leaflets. Opposite of simple.
Compound leaf	Referring to a leaf which is divided into smaller units; i.e., leaflets. Opposite of simple.
Compound pistil	A gynoecium composed of more than one carpel, same as compound ovary.
Concave	Curved inward or hollowed out, as the surface of a saucer or the margin of a leaf blade. Opposite of convex.
Conifer (adj. = coniferous)	Referring to shrubs or trees having cones as their reproductive structures, e.g., pines, spruces, firs,
Connate	Referring to similar structures fused to each other, such as the petals of a sympetalous corolla. Same as fused. Compare with adnate and connivent.
Connivent	Coming into contact but not fused; e.g., the anthers of species of Asteraceae and Campanulaceae.
Contractile roots	Referring to a root that elongates and then contracts, usually to keep a bulb, corm, or rhizome at a certain level in the ground.
Contrafuerte	Proyección leñosa y angosta, localizada entre las raíces secundarias superficiales y la base del tronco de algunos árboles. Ver raíz tabular.

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