From Seed to Seed: A Pictorial Story Showing How a Bean Plant Grows. Part 2 The Flowering and Mature Bean Plant Glossary
- abaxial
facing away from axis (stem), typically the lower surface of leaves
- abscise
natural separation of plant structures such as leaves or petals
- adaxial
facing towards axis (stem), typically the upper surface of leaves
- anther
the terminal structure of a stamen where the pollen develops
- apical meristems
areas of rapid cell division found at the ends of shoots or roots
- Axil
the angle between a leaf and stem, an area not a structure
- banner
the upper petal of a bean flower
- carpel
in beans, a single chamber that makes up the pistil
- cell wall
the structure that surrounds plant cells made up of primarily cellulose, providing structural support and protection
- chloroplasts
the green organelles responsible for photosynthesis
- complex tissue
a tissue made up of more than one cell type
- compound leaf
a fully divided leaf, each division is a leaflet
- cortex
ground tissue found in stems between the epidermis and vascular bundles
- Cotyledon
a very modified leaf that stores energy for the developing embryonic plant
- dermal tissue
thin-walled cells that surround all plant parts, most commonly the epidermis
- Epicotyl
the region above the cotyledons and below the first true leaves
- epidermis
the outer cells of plant organs
- fibers
long and strong cells that have thick hard walls for support
- filament
the structure that holds the anther up, a subunit of the stamen
- Floral anthesis
the opening of a flower when it is mature
- Floral senescence
the controlled death of the flower or flower parts such as petals falling off
- flower
The reproductive organ in plants
- fruit
the mature ovary with seeds inside
- ground tissue
one of the three tissue systems in plants, often storage cells or photosynthetic cells, in older organs, may have fibers.
- Hilum
the attachment point between the ovary and the seed, on mature seeds, it is often a different color than the seed coat
- hypocotyl
the area between the root and the cotyledons
- keel
the two lower petals of a bean flower that look like a boat keel together
- lateral meristems
areas of rapid cell division that add width to stems or roots
- leaf
flattened plant organ responsible for a majority of photosynthesis
- leaflet
in beans, each leaf is divided into three leaflets except for the first leaves that grow after the cotyledons, which have only one
- legume
a member of the bean family of plants
- Macrosclereids
thick-walled cells found often in the seed coat of plants; they are elongated in shape
- organs
plants consist of five diverse structures; these are the leaves, stems, roots, flowers, and fruits
- ovary
the basal portion of a pistil which holds the ovules which will become the bean fruit
- ovule
the structure that holds the egg and becomes the seed and includes the seed coat
- parenchyma
thin-walled cells that are alive and serve many functions such as photosynthesis or storage
- Perlite
a low-density product made from volcanic glass; water adheres to its surface but is not absorbed
- petal
a flattened flower structure that is often not green, in beans they are often white or pink - phloem
One of the two vascular tissues; responsible for the movement of sugars from where they are made to where they are needed or stored.
- pistil
the central structure in a flower that is made up of a stigma, style, and ovary
- pith
the central group of cells in stems that act as filler; composed of living parenchyma cells
- pollen
the structure that holds sperm for reproduction, often too small to see without a microscope
- Radicle
the embryonic root inside of the seed
- root
the plant organ that absorbs water and nutrients for the other organs
- root apical meristem
the growing tip of a root
- root hairs
thin-walled epidermal cells that increase the surface area of a root; they aid in absorption of water and minerals
- sclereids
thick-walled cells that are dead at maturity, most often for protection from being eaten
- sclerenchyma
thick-walled, long cells that are dead at maturity
- seed
the embryonic plant, cotyledons, and seed coat
- Seed coat
the outermost cells that protect the embryo and cotyledons
- seed pod
a bean fruit
- senesce
the natural process of dying that occurs in many places in the plant during development
- sepal
a small leaflike structure at the base of a flower
- shoot apical meristem
the growing tip of a stem
- simple tissue
a tissue that is made up of one cell type providing the same function
- stamen
the structure that consists of an anther and filament
- starch grains
small units of stored complex sugars within cells
- stem
the organ that supports the leaves, flowers and fruits, and moves material between organs
- stigma
the terminal end of a pistil where pollen must land for pollination
- style
the column-like area between the stigma and the ovary of a pistil
- tracheary elements
non-living cells in the xylem that conduct water and dissolved minerals
- tracheids
narrow, non-living tracheary elements
- trichome
sometimes called hairs, these grow from the epidermis and can be diverse in shape and function
- trifoliate leaf
a leaf that is dissected into three parts
- Unifoliate leaf
a leaf that technically is divided into only one part, technically called a leaflet
- vascular bundle
the veins of a plant that are made up of xylem and phloem
- vascular tissue
xylem and phloem
- vessels
wide tracheary elements (non-living)
- wing
the two central petals of a bean flower
- xylem
one of the two vascular tissues, responsible for the movement of water and dissolved minerals
- ยต
the Greek letter mu is used as a label representing one millionth in the metric system, μm is then one-millionth of a meter and called a micrometer or micron