Glossary

acaulescent - Stemless or nearly stemless.
adventitious offsets - Unusual offsetting, as in the tiny offsets at the base of some Vrieseas.
ageotropic - Growing equally in any direction, without respect to gravity.
albomarginated - Having variegation on the leaf margins only.
anthesis - The flowering period of a plant, from the opening of the flower bud.
bigeneric - A hybrid between two species of different genera.
bract - Modified leaves on the inflorescence, often brightly colored.
bulbous - Resembling a bulb especially in roundness or the gross enlargement of a part.
capitate - Inflorescence forming a rounded head.
caudex - A stem from which new growth arises.
caulescent - Having an elongated leafy stem.
CITES - Acronym for Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
clone - Vegetative propagation from a single seedling parent.
cultivar - A cultivated variety or strain.
digitate - Branches clustering from one point like fingers on a hand.
discolor - Having two-toned leaves, often green above and purple below.
epiphyte - Not soil bound, but using another plant or object for support. Not a parasite.

facultative epiphyte - Able to grow with or without soil, as in many Neoregelias or Aechmeas.

fasciculate - Clustering habit. Offsetting from the base.
floccose - Wooly or fuzzy.
flush, or blush - refers to the color change during the blooming period.
glabrous - Shiny and smooth, lacking hairs.
glaucous - A sea-green color coated with a waxy powder.
globose - Rounded or spherical shape.
grex - All siblings of the same seed cross.
herbarium sheet - A paper with a prepared and dried plant specimen.
hybrid - The results of a cross between two different species or hybrids.
hybrid swarm - A cross between two species that becomes fertile and breeds true, imitating a true species.
inflorescence - The flowering portion of a plant, including the scape.
lanceolate - Having a lance-like shape.
lithophyte - Plant that grows on bare rocks or stone.
meristem - The actively growing tissue of a plant, used for artificial cloning. A propagation resulting from this process.
mesic - Moisture loving species.
nidular - Nested or deep in the center of the rosette.

obligate epiphyte - Must grow without soil. Think of 'Spanish Moss' and many other Tillandsias.

obovate - Of a leaf shape; egg-shaped with a narrower end at the base.
offset - A vegetative division, synonymous with Pup.
pachycaul - An abnormally thick-stemmed plant.
panicle - A loosely branched inflorescence.
pinnate - Compound, with branches arranged in feather fashion to the sides of the rachis.

pseudobulb - A thickened base resembling a bulb, common in epiphytic plants like orchids and some bromeliads.
rachis - The central spine of an inflorescence.
reticulations - A network of veins of lines on a leaf surface.
rosette - A growth resembling a rose.
saxicole - A rock dwelling species.
scandent - Having a climbing habit.
scurf - Wooly hairs, usually found on the scape of an inflorescence.
spike - A non-scientific term used in place of inflorescence.
scape - The stem of an inflorescence, bearing one or more flowers, usually leaf-like bracts and sometimes branches.
stoloniferous - Propagating by means of an elongated woody stem.
terete - Curled from the edges to form a tapering cylinder.
terrestrial - Growing in the soil, not aquatic or epiphytic.
tessellated - Having a checkered or mosaic pattern.
tomentum - A layer of matted woolly down on the surface of a plant.
trichome - The scales which all bromeliads have and which give Tillandsias their silvery or fuzzy look. Moisture absorbing organs.
triploid - Having an extra set of chromosomes. Often causes giantism.
variegated - Having stripes, usually white, randomly up each leaf.
vivipary - Proliferating or producing offsets from the inflorescence.
xeric - Adapted to arid conditions.