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Australian Biological Resources Study

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Flora of Australia
GLOSSARY

Compiled by A.McCusker


INDEX

| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J-K | L | M | N | O | P-Q | R | S | T | U | V | W-Z | Back to Glossaries

W - Z

wallum: coastal vegetation on sandy acidic soils, in south-eastern Queensland.

whorl: a ring of leaves, bracts or floral parts borne at the same level on an axis. cf. cyclic, spiral. > image <

wing: a membranous expansion of a fruit or seed, which aids dispersal; a thin flange of tissue extended beyond the normal outline of a stem or petiole; a lateral petal of a flower in Fabaceae. > image <

xeromorph: a plant having structural features usually associated with plants of arid habitats (such as hard or succulent leaves) but not necessarily drought-tolerant. cf. scleromorph, xerophyte.

xerophyte: a drought-tolerant plant. cf. xeromorph.

xylem: the tissue, in a vascular plant, that conducts water and mineral salts from the roots to the leaves.

zygomorphic (= irregular): of a flower or calyx or corolla, bilaterally symmetrical, symmetrical about one plane only, usually the plane that bisects the flower vertically along the longitudinal axis. cf. actinomorphic, peloric.

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