Absorbing root hairs
Cactus grower terms
Root hairs that form on branches of the root system when they are wetted with water, which helps to increase absorptive capacity. They die off during prolonged soil dryness.
Glossary of terms
A reference section with categories and short explanations.
Absorptive capacity
Cactus grower terms
The level of water uptake of dissolved nutrients by the root system. It depends on the condition of the plant's above-ground parts, the root system itself, and the composition of the substrate.
Absorptive power
Cactus grower terms
The rate at which root hair cells absorb water and the nutrients dissolved in it.
Acclimatization
Cactus grower terms
The adaptation of plants to new, unfamiliar conditions of growth, primarily soil and climatic conditions.
Acquired characteristics
Cactus grower terms
Those that were not present in the parents and appear when cultivation conditions change.
Adaptive mechanisms
Cactus grower terms
Adaptive mechanisms. See "adaptation".
Adventitious roots
Cactus grower terms
"Waiting roots" - root primordia of cacti that form during prolonged absence of water. In a moist environment they can very quickly activate and develop into a normal root system with its characteristic functions.
Adventitious roots
Cactus grower terms
Form on shoots, often in the above-ground zone.
Adventive plants
Cactus grower terms
"Foreign" to the given locality.
Alkaloids
Cactus grower terms
Organic nitrogen-containing substances of predominantly plant origin that exert varying effects on the nervous system of animals and humans.
Allele
Cactus grower terms
(From Greek allelon - one another, mutually) - one of two or more alternative structural states of a gene.
Allogamy
Cactus grower terms
Pollination of a flower by the pollen of another flower, but from the same plant.
Alluvial layers
Cactus grower terms
Sedimentary deposits in the form of alluvial layers, accumulating on land under the influence of flowing water.
Anaerobes
Cactus grower terms
Microorganisms capable of living and growing without access to free oxygen.
Angle of sharpening of the povoy
Cactus grower terms
The angle at which the bevel is cut (see below).
Apex
Cactus grower terms
The tip of a stem or root where the apical meristem is located.
Apical
Cactus grower terms
Apical, situated closer to the morphological end of a plant organ.
Areole
Cactus grower terms
Characteristic organ of members of the cactus family. It is a thinly hairy cushion, a hairy or downy area at the apex of the tubercles (bumps) on cactus ribs, covered with a typical cotton-like pubescence, bearing modified bud scales (spin…
Arid conditions
Cactus grower terms
Dry conditions in which the total annual precipitation does not exceed 250 mm.
Arid species
Cactus grower terms
Plants of dry and hot climates.
Articulate stem
Cactus grower terms
A stem composed of separate segments divided by distinct constrictions.
Artificial pollination
Cactus grower terms
The transfer by a person of pollen from the flower of one plant to the flower of another.
Assimilation
Cactus grower terms
The process by which plants take up substances from the external environment and form from them more complex compounds.
Assimilation area
Cactus grower terms
See "assimilation surface".
Assimilatory surface
Cactus grower terms
The surface of a plant capable of performing the functions of photosynthesis.
Autecology
Cactus grower terms
(From Greek autos - 'self' and ecology) - the branch of ecology that studies the effects of various environmental factors on individual populations and species.
Autogamy
Cactus grower terms
Self-pollination and self-fertilization in plants.
Auxins
Cactus grower terms
(From Greek aichapo - I increase, I grow) plant hormones, indole derivatives, stimulate many growth processes, tropisms, root formation.
Axil
Cactus grower terms
A depression, the axil between the tubercles of certain genera and species of cacti, from which flowers and shoots develop.