- Abiotic Disease – abnormal condition of a plant that is caused by a non- infectious agent, i.e.; environment, people
- Abscission – natural dropping of leaves, flowers and other plant parts.
- Acid Soil – soils with a pH below 7.0.
- Active Ingredient – the chemical that actually controls the pest.
- Aeration – increasing the amount of air space in the soil by tilling or removing cores.
- Aggregation – combining soil particles
- Alkaline Soil – soil with a pH above 7.0.
- Alternate leaf – the arrangement of leaves or buds when they occur singly at a node.
- Annual – a plant that completes its life cycle, from seed to seed in one year.
- Annual Ring – the annual growth layer when observed in cross section, the result of water transporting tissues becoming inactive.
- Apical Dominance – the suppression of lateral bud growth by the terminal bud.
- Backfill – a soil mixture that balances sand loam, clay and organic matter to obtain a medium with adequate air space for drainage and root growth.
- Bacteria – one cell microorganisms that multiply by division and cause produce blights, wilts, or leaf spots.
- Balled and Burlapped [ B & B stock] – trees and shrubs that have been prepared for transplanting by digging with soil around the roots in an undisturbed ball then covered with burlap or similar mesh fabric.
- Balled and Potted [B & P] – trees and shrubs that have been dug with soil around the roots and placed in a container.
- Bare-root Stock [B R] – harvested trees and shrubs that have been dug and the soil or growing medium removed from around the roots.
- Benchmark – a point of defined elevation on a grading plan
- Biennial – a plant that completes its life cycle in 2 years.
- Binomial System – a system in which a plant is named with a two part scientific name.
- Biotic Disease – abnormal condition of a plant caused by a living micro-organism.
- Branch Collar – enlarged base of the limb that produces the tissue to close a pruning cut.
- Bud – a young undeveloped shoot or flower.
- Budding – a propagation method that involves the placement of a bud from the desirable plant on the rootstock of a seedling.
- Calcium – a nutrient necessary for plant growth, also used to raise pH.
- Caliper – diameter of a tree measured at 6” above the ground for trees less than 4 inches in diameter. For larger trees, the caliper measurement is taken at 12” above the ground.
- Candle – the new shoot of growth on a conifer, i.e.; pine and spruce trees
- Cation Exchange Capacity – measure of soils capacity to hold nutrients
- Callus Tissue – wound tissue that forms on or below a wounded surface.
- Cambium – a one or two cell thick zone of cell division that produces phloem and xylem.
- Cell – the basic microscopic building block of living organisms where growth processes occur.
- Cell Division – the basis of plant growth which occurs in the meristem.
- Chlorophyll – the green pigment necessary for photosynthesis.
- Chlorosis – yellowing of foliage due to the loss or breakdown of chlorophyll.
- Clay – smallest of the soil particles that combine with silt and sand to determine the soil texture
- Clone – a group of individuals that have originated from a common plant. Propagation of a clone cannot occur from seed but instead from cuttings, grafts or divisions.
- Cold Hardiness – minimum cold temperature at which twigs and buds of a plant will survive.
- Compound Leaf – a leaf divided into two or more parts called leaflets.
- Contract Documents – plans and specifications and other legally binding documents that define how a project is to be completed.
- Cool Season grasses – lawn grass species that prefer cooler temperatures and may go dormant when temperatures are above 90 degrees.
- Conifer – woody trees and shrubs that produce cones, includes pines, spruce, hemlock, juniper, and spruce.
- Container grown – plants grown continuously in a container, usually in artificial media.
- Cultivar – a cultivated variety
- Cuttings – a part of a plant used to develop a new plant with roots, stems and leaves.
- Dead-heading – removing spent flowers to encourage continued blooming or to improve appearance of a plant.
- Deciduous – trees or shrubs that drop their leaves at the end of each growing season.
- Defoliate – loss of plant leaves that is often caused by insects, diseases or environmental conditions.
- Dermal Absorption – most common method of pesticide exposure to the applicator through the skin or eyes
- Desiccation – Dehydration or loss of water from the plant tissue.
- Disease Triangle – Disease management concept that recognizes the need for a host, a pathogen and the correct environment to result in a disease. .
- Landscape Design – the art of creating a functional and aesthetically pleasing outdoor environment for human use.
- Design principles – order, unity, dominance, repetition, scale and balance
- Dicotyledon – a flowering plant so named because it has two cotyledons or seed leaves.
- Division – a method of propagating plants by breaking the roots or bulbs of the parent plant apart.
- Dormancy – an inactive period during which a seed or plant rests due to internal causes.
- Double cut method – A pruning technique used to prevent splitting the tree bark.
- Elevation – the vertical form of the land surface on a landscape site.
- Elevation View – a two dimensional drawing that shows a side view of a project.
- Evergreen – A plant that retains all or most of its foliage year round.
- Exotic Plants – plants that have been introduced into region or state.
- Family – a grouping of genera that resemble each other, the family name ends in –aceae.
- Fertilizer – a material added to soil to provide elements essential for plant growth.
- Fertilizer analysis – the percent of nitrogen, phosphorous (P2O5) and potassium (K2O) in a fertilizer.
- Fertilizer, complete – a fertilizer that contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
- Fertilizer, incomplete – a fertilizer that contains any combination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, but not all three.
- Fertilizer, inorganic – fertilizer produced thru mining or manufacturing
- Fertilizer, organic – fertilizer product that is a by-product of plant or animal residues and usually is slowly available to the plant.
- Flower – showy part of the plant that produces fruit and seeds.
- Flushes of growth – growth that originates from the enlargement of a specific number of cells contained within the bud.
- Fruit – the mature ovary from a flower that functions to protect the developing seeds. An important criterion in the selection of a plant for use in a landscape.
- Fungi – microscopic thread-like plants that produce spores. Rusts, molds, leaf spots, mushrooms and cankers are produced by fungi.
- Fungicide – a pesticide that kills or inhibits the growth of fungi.
- Genus – a group of closely related species.
- Girdling – the severing or removal of bark on a woody stem.
- Girdling roots – condition where roots grow around the trunk of a tree and restrict the movement of water, nutrients and food reserves.
- Grading Plan – a drawing showing the topography, and the location of proposed elements and proposed elevations for a site.
- Grafting – the process used to join a root stock to a branch or scion to produce a better plant.
- Hardening Off – the gradual adjustment that plants go through to withstand extreme condition such as colder temperatures.
- Hardy Bulb – a perennial that forms an enlarged underground structure.
- Heading back – pruning technique that reduces the stem length to reduce the overall size of a plant.
- Herbaceous – plants with non-woody fleshy stems.
- Herbicide – a pesticide used to kill or inhibit plant growth, normally used on weeds.
- Horizon – layers of soil in an undisturbed site.
- Hybrid plant – a plant that is the produced by pollenizing the pistil of one species with the pollen of another. Written with an “x” in the scientific name.
- Inert ingredient – material that the active chemical ingredient is dissolved into.
- Insecticide – a pesticide used to control insects.
- Ion – positively or negatively charged particles.
- Iron [Fe] – a micronutrient needed during photosynthesis.
- Iron chlorosis – a condition where iron is deficient in the leaf resulting in leaf yellowing with green veins.
- Internode – the part of a stem located between nodes
- Juvenility – stage in plant development where growth is in the vegetative mode only and will not produce seeds.
- Layout Plan – A drawing showing the exact location of proposed site elements. Lateral Bud – a bud at the base of a leaf.
- Layering – a simple method of propagation by developing roots on the stem of a plant.
- Leaching – downward movement of water and minerals in the soil.
- Leaf scorch – a symptom of lack of water in a leaf.
- Machine Balled – nursery plant that is dug bare root and packaged in sawdust or sphagnum peat moss and wrapped in plastic.
- Macronutrients – nine elements essential to plant growth and development used in large quantities (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, calcium, and magnesium).
- Magnesium [Mg] – nutrient that aids in the development of green color (chlorophyll) in the plant tissue.
- Maturity – the stage in plant growth at which seeds may be produced.
- Meristem – tissue in all plants consisting of undifferentiated cells.
- Metabolism – activity in the cell that includes all the chemistry of life.
- Microclimate – the environment immediately surrounding a plant or area of a landscape site.
- Micronutrients – eight elements essential to plant growth and used in small quantities (iron, copper, manganese, zinc, molybdenum, boron, chlorine and nickel).
- Miticide – a pesticide used to control mites
- Monocotyledon – a flowering plant with one cotyledon or seed leaf.
- Mulch – A layer of organic or inorganic material used around plants to moderate soil temperature, conserve moisture and reduce weeds and run-off.
- Native Plant – plants grown in natural populations in a region or state.
- Nematocide – chemical used to kill nematodes.
- Nematode – a microscopic work capable of piercing roots and feeding on them.
- Nitrogen – nutrient responsible for vegetative growth that becomes part of the protein molecule.
- Node – area on a stem where leaves are attached and buds formed.
- Non Selective Herbicide – pesticide which will kill all vegetation it comes in contact with.
- Non-translocated herbicide – weed killer that does not move when absorbed into the plant.
- Nutrients – elements necessary for plant growth.
- Nutrient Deficiency – lack of adequate amount of a plant nutrient or soil conditions that prevent the plant from taking up the nutrient.
- Opposite leaf – the arrangement of leaves or buds when they occur in pairs at the nodes.
- Oral Exposure – method of pesticide exposure to the applicator by ingestion through the mouth.
- Organ – plant parts composed of multiple tissues organized for specific function; leaves, stems, buds roots.
- Organic matter – partially decomposed plant and animal residue.
- Ornamental grasses – perennial or annual with grass like habit that is not mowed like turf.
- Pathogen – A living micro-organism capable of producing a plant disease. ie; fungi, bacteria, viruses and nematodes.
- People Pressure Diseases – abnormal conditions in plants caused by the ignorance and abuse of people.
- Perennial – a plant that lives from one season to the next and usually lives for more than 2 years.
- pH – a measure of a soils hydrogen ion activity on a scale from 0 – 14 that indicates the acid or alkaline condition of the soil. A pH of 7 is neutral.
- Phloem – the tissue responsible for transporting “plant food” in the plant.
- Photosynthesis – a metabolic system which produces sugar and oxygen from carbon dioxide, water and light energy.
- Phytotoxicity – plant injury caused by sensitivity to a pesticide.
- Phosphorus – nutrient used during early growth and for root development and flower and seed production.
- Plant tissue – organized groups of large numbers of cells to accomplish a particular function.
- Planting Plan – a scale drawing showing the location of all plants to be installed on a project.
- Post-emergent – application of a herbicide after the plant leaf emerges above the soil surface.
- Potassium [K] – nutrient used by a plant to build a resistance to cold, also used in food or nutrient transport within the plant.
- Personal Protective Equipment [PPE] – Clothing and equipment necessary to avoid overexposure to pesticides.
- Pre-emergence – application of a herbicide before the plant leaf emerges from the soil.
- Potted Plants – nursery stock dug bare root and then planted in a container.
- Propagation – methods of reproducing plants ie: seeds, cuttings, grafting, budding, division, bulbs.
- Quarantine – the restriction of movement of plant materials in order to control the spread of a disease or insect.
- Reentry Statement – details the time interval between application of a pesticide and the entry of an unprotected person into the application site.
- Rejuvenation – pruning process where the plant is cut back to the ground.
- Renewal – pruning process used to remove older growth over a 3 year period.
- Respiration – plant process where stored energy is released to support plant growth.
- Respiratory exposure – method of pesticide exposure to the applicator through the lungs.
- Rhizome – underground plant stem that can send out roots at the nodes
- Root-bound –The root system of a container plant becoming overgrown and circling repeatedly inside the container. Also called pot bound.
- Root flare – the transition zone between the trunk of a tree and the root system, also called root collar. Should be exposed at the soil surface when planting the tree.
- Root hair – outgrowths from the cells on the surface of the root, located within one half inch of the root tip.
- Root pruning – cutting roots to encourage a more compact root system and improve transplanting success.
- Sand – largest of the individual soil particles
- Scientific name – a two part name used to identify plants and animals; it consists of the genus and species names. Developed by Carolus Linneaus.
- Section View – a two dimensional drawing that shows a cut-through side view of a project.
- Selective herbicide – Pesticide which will control a specific type of weed with little or no damage to other plants.
- Senescence – stage of plant development where the plant prepares for death of a plant organ.
- Silt – intermediate sized soil particles
- Simple Leaf – an undivided leaf blade
- Slow release fertilizer – fertilizer product which provides nutrient release over an extended period of time.
- Soil Amendments – materials added to soil to improve texture, aeration, water retention and nutrient retention. Usually organic matter.
- Soil texture – combination of sand, silt and clay particles.
- Spot Elevation – an individual point on a project site that is called out on the drawing for its precise elevation.
- Species – a group of closely related plants, each possessing similar characteristics.
- Starter fertilizer – a fertilizer applied when planting or seeding containing nutrients to aid root and seedling growth.
- Stolon – above ground plant stem that can develop new plants at the nodes.
- Stomates –small plant structures on the underside of the leaf that permit the exchange of gases and water vapor from the leaf to the atmosphere.
- Sulfur [S] – a macronutrient needed by plants, also a compound used to lower pH.
- Thatch – dead and decomposing grass plants
- Thinning – pruning technique where an entire branch is removed.
- Tissue – a group of cells with a similar function.
- Tissue Culture – A specialized method of propagation utilizing small amounts of tissue from the parent plant.
- Translocation – movement of materials around in a plant.
- Translocated herbicide –a chemical that moves in the plant once it is absorbed by the leaf or roots.
- Transpiration – evaporation of water from the leaves through the stomates to the atmosphere.
- Toxicity – inherent ability of a chemical to cause harm to a living entity
- Tuber – a modified plant structure to store plant food.
- Turgid – leaves not wilted; having adequate moisture.
- Variety – a subdivision describing a race or form within a species.
- Vegetative Propagation – plant reproduction without seed. ie; cuttings, grafting, bulbs, division, budding.
- Virus – disease causing agent, smaller than bacteria causing leaf spots or yellows in plants.
- Water sprout – a fast growing shoot that originates from a bark wound of pruning cut.
- Warm Season Grasses – turf grasses that grow well when temperatures are above 90 degrees and go dormant in the winter.
- Wilting – plant tissue that becomes limp due to a lack of water.
- Xylem – tissue responsible for water and nutrient transport in plants.
- Zone – USDA Hardiness zone describing plants ability to withstand cold temperatures.
NOTE: Chapter 8 includes an extensive glossary of terminology for insects.