As a student of botany, the language describing plants, in all it's technical minutiae, fascinates me. The Latin and Greek roots of much of this language, makes it feel exotic, mysterious, and arcane. In Herbilingua, I illuminate botanical terminology by photographing plants in their environment.
Cotyledons - "seed leaves" the embryonic leaves, produced in the seed, that are the first to emerge from the seed. The true leaves of this Coleus sp. can be seen under the cotyledons.
Guttation - the exudation of water and xylem sap from the stomata of plants due to water pressure building up on the roots. Guttation only occurs when there is high humidity in the air, and evapotranspiration isn't occuring.
Involucre - a series of bracts at the base of an inflorescence, as at the base of a Daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum)
Ochrea - sheath formed around the stem. Characteristic of the Polygonaceae (Knotweed Family).
Predation - the act of eating another species, in this case, Gray Blister Beetles chowing down on the fruits of Wild Indigo (Baptisia sp.)
Sessile - lacking petiole and attached directly to the stem, referring to leaves. Trillium (Trillium sp.).
Umbel - the umbrella-like inflorescence, in which the smaller stems of individual flowers emerge from the same point on the main stem. The Winter Skeleton of a Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota) inflorescence.
Whorled - Leaf arrangement where 3 or more leaves are attached at the same node on a stem. Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum)
