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macrospore (not recommended) |
= megaspore |
STRUCTURE |
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A female spore; a spore of the larger of two types produced by the sporophytes of a heterosporous taxon; produced in a megasporangium; giving rise upon germination to a megagametophyte. |
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macrosporocarp (not recommended) |
= megasporocarp |
STRUCTURE |
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A sporocarp that bears only macrosporangia (megasporangia). |
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macrosporophyll (not recommended) |
= megasporophyll; > carpel, cone scale, ovuliferous scale |
STRUCTURE |
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A sporophyll that bears only megasporangia and, in Pinophyta, naked ovules that develop subsequently. |
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macrostrobilus pl. macrostrobili (not recommended) |
= female cone, megastrobilus |
STRUCTURE |
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A strobilus (cone) whose fertile organs are all megasporophylls. |
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macula pl. maculae |
= blotch, spot |
FEATURE |
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An area that differs in color from the rest of a structure's surface, usually due to differing coloration. See also eyespot. |
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maculate |
= blotched, spotted |
coloration |
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Having one or more areas that differ in color from the rest of the surface. See also eyespotted. |
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main stem |
= primary stem; > bole, trunk |
STRUCTURE |
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The one, or any of the more than one, first-order stem(s), or first-order portion(s) of the collective stem, of a shoot. |
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male |
= masculine |
reproduction |
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Of the sex that produces microspores and sperm. |
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male cone |
= microstrobilus |
STRUCTURE |
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A cone (strobilus) whose fertile organs are all microsporophylls. |
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mamilla pl. mamillae |
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STRUCTURE |
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A nipple- or teat-shaped protrusion. |
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mamillate |
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relief |
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Bearing mamillae. |
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mamma pl. mammae |
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STRUCTURE |
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A rounded-conoidal protrusion, resembling the breast of a mammal. |
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mammiform |
= breast-shaped |
solid shape |
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Rounded conic, like the breast of a mammal. |
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mammose |
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solid shape |
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Having mammae. |
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manifestation |
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CHARACTER |
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Degree or nature of evidence when present within the context in point. |
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many-stemmed |
= multicipital |
architecture |
plant |
Having many, more or less equal, principal stems arising at substrate level from a caudex or root crown. |
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many-… |
= multi…, pluri…, poly… |
prefix |
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Indicating presence of or constitution by a relatively large number of entities of the type denoted by the term's stem; as in many-angled, many-pistilled, many-seeded. See also few-… (oligo…). |
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marcescent |
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duration |
structure |
Persistent in a distinctly withered condition. |
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margin |
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CHARACTER |
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Configuration of all or part of the periphery of a planate structure, sometimes referred to as though it were discrete and an entity in its own right for descriptive purposes. The extent of the area considered to pertain to the margin in a given case is, of necessity, subjectively determined. As a general rule, peripheral concavities that do not exceed 1/5 the distance from the generalized edge to the center or main axis of the structure are considered components of marginal configuration, deeper concavities being considered components of overall shape. The margin is sometimes considered to be only the infinitely thin boundary itself, and such a definition is probably the one most technically correct from the standpoint of geometry and general usage. However, it is inconsistent with traditional usage in descriptive botany, which treats the margin as an entity of substance both semantically and conceptually. The semantic antecedent of some descriptors is "margin," whereas the antecedent of others is the structure as a whole (e.g., leaf). |
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marginal |
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insertion |
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Upon or otherwise directly associated with the margins. |
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marginal |
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position |
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Upon or otherwise directly associated with the margins. |
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masculine |
= male |
reproduction |
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Of the sex that produces microspores and sperm. |
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massula pl. massulae |
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STRUCTURE |
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A body of coherent pollen grains, dispersed as a unit; esp. in Asclepiadaceae, Orchidaceae. |
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matted |
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habit |
plants |
Growing in extensive, low, dense aggregations, sometimes with the stems of different plants intertwined. |
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maturation |
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CHARACTER |
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Timing of the attainment of functional maturity, sometimes relative to other structures, sometimes as to constituent structures relative to each other. |
