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EnchantedLearning.com Botany and Paleobotany Dictionary

Plants

TAP ROOT The tap root is the main root of some plants; the tap root extends straight down under the plant with very little side branches (compare with fibrous root).	TAXON A taxon is category in the classification of living organisms. The taxa (the plural of taxon) in the Linnean system are kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.	TAXONOMY Taxonomy is the science of classifying organisms into groups by structure, origin, common ancestor, etc.
TEETH Teeth are the jagged edges on some leaves, like those of thistles and hawthorne.	TEMPERATE RAINFOREST Temperate rainforests are very wet, ancient forests that rarely freeze or get very hot. Most of the world's temperate rainforests are in the Pacific Northwest of the USA.	TERMINAL BUD The terminal bud is a bud located at the apex (tip) of the stem. This type of bud is the dominant bud, since it can cause all the lateral (side) buds below them to remain dormant at all times of the year. Terminal buds have special tissue, called apical meristem, cells that can divide indefinitely.
TERTIARY PERIOD The Tertiary period lasted from 65 to 1.8 million years ago. It followed the Cretaceous period (the end of the Mesozoic Era) and the K-T extinction. Many mammals developed then, including primitive whales, rodents, pigs, cat, rhinos, etc.	TESTA The testa is the seed coat. It covers the seed.	TETHYS SEA The Tethys sea was a shallow sea that existed during the early Mesozoic Era. It was the body of water that separated the landmass of Laurasia in the north from Gondwanaland in the south.
THEORY A theory is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon.	THIGMOTROPISM Thigmotropism is the directional bending or turning response of a plant upon contact with a solid surface or object; it is basically a sense of touch in plants. For example, the tendrils of vines are thigmotropic.	THORN A thorn is a sharp, modified stem. Thorns have a stem-like vascular structure. The honey locust plant has thorns.
THYLAKOID DISK Thylakoid disks are disk-shaped membrane structures in chloroplasts that contain chlorophyll. Chloroplasts are made up of stacks of thylakoid disks; a stack of thylakoid disks is called a granum. Photosynthesis (the production of ATP molecules from sunlight) takes place on thylakoid disks. Thylakoid means 'sac-like' in Greek.	TIPITI A tipiti is a flexible braided cylindrical basket made of jacitara palm bark that is used by the Tupis of South America. The tipiti is used to remove the poison liquid from bitter cassava root. The cassava pulp is squeezed in the tipiti until the poisonous liquid is extracted. This process makes the cassava edible.	TOMATO The tomato is scientifically considered to be a fruit (because the seeds of the plant are contained within the tomato).
TRACE FOSSILS Also known as ichnofossils, these are fossilized footprints, nests, dung, gastroliths, etc., but not actual body parts. They record the movement and behavior of animals.	TRACHEOPHYTE A tracheophyte is a plant with true vascular tissue, like xylem and phloem.	TRANSGRESSION Transgression is the flooding of a continent as the sea level increases, usually caused by melting polar ice. Another cause is sea floor spreading and underwater volcanism, in which large amounts of underwater lava cause water to be displaced onto land.
TRANSPIRATION Transpiration is the process in which plants lose water through pores in their leaves (these openings are called stomata). As water is lost from the plant, the plant takes up more water (and minerals) through its roots. The rate of transpiration varies as the conditions of the plant change and is controlled by the opening and closing the stomata.	TREE A tree is a plant that produces wood (made by xylem cells). These tall plants grow taller each year.	TREE FERN Tree ferns are tall vascular plants that live in warm climates. These ferns have a clump of fronds on top of a fibrous trunk.
TREE RINGS By counting the number of tree rings in a tree's trunk, you can tell how old the tree was.	TRIASSIC PERIOD (pronounced tri-ASS-ik PEER-ee-ud) Dinosaurs and mammals evolved during the Triassic period, 248 - 208 million years ago.	TROPHIC LEVEL A trophic level is a level of the grazing food chain. For example, plant-eaters are primary consumers; they occupy the second trophic level in the grazing food chain.
TROPICAL RAINFOREST Tropical rainforests are warm, very wet forests that do not freeze (the temperature remains over 75°F=24°C) and do not get extremely hot. Tropical rainforests cover about 7% of the Earth's surface, in a band around the equator. They are also called equatorial rainforests.	TROPICS The tropics are a 3,000 mile (4800 km) wide band around the equator, between the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° N latitude) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5° S latitude).	TRUNK The trunk of a tree is the stem that supports the crown.
TSUNAMI (pronounced sue-NAHM-ee) A tsunami is a huge wave, caused by undersea earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or, more rarely, by asteroid or meteoroid impact (as in the case of the K-T extinction).	TUBER A tuber is a modified root that stores nutrients. Potatoes are tubers.	TUMBLEWEEDS Tumbleweeds are annual plants that have a rounded shape; they dry our in the fall, and the stem beaks off near the ground. The ball-shaped, withered plant tumbles around in the wind (hence the name), scattering their seeds. There are many different types of tumbleweed - they live in the prairie and plains of the United States. One common type of tumbleweed is Russian thistle (Salsola kali).
TURGOR PRESSURE Turgor pressure is the force that is exerted on a plant's cell wall by the water (in the cytoplasm) within the cell. The water presses against the cell wall from within, giving the plant cell rigidity, helping it keep its shape. Turgor pressure is the mechanism that changes the shape of the guard cells that open a plant's stomata, pores located on the underside of leaves.	TUSSOCK GRASS Tussock grass (Deschampsia cespitosa or Aira cespitosa) is a tall variety of grass (20 to 36 inches tall) that is used as an ornamental grass. Tussock grass grows in clumps and has fine hair-like leaves. In summer it produces fine green to yellow inflourences.	TYPE SPECIES A type species is the species of an organism from which a new genus is named. For example, Tyrannosaurus rex is the type species for the genus Tyrannosaurus.
TYPE SPECIMEN A type specimen is the set of fossil remains of an organism from which a new species is named.

Plant Printouts

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Plants

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