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Glossary: L

labellum labellum
In orchids, the lowest, highly modified petal.
lacerate lacerate
With a jagged margin that appears torn.
laciniate laciniate
Cut into narrow lobes or long teeth.
lacuna lacuna
A space or gap within a tissue.
laminar laminar
Thin, with broad faces (as with a leaf).
lanceolate lanceolate
Widest below the middle and tapering at both ends, narrower than ovate but wider than linear; lance-shaped.
lanceoloid lanceoloid
The 3-dimensional equivalent of lanceolate: widest below the middle and tapering at both ends, lance-shaped.
lateral lateral
On or to the side.
lateral vein lateral vein
A vessel that branches off the main midvein of a leaf.
latex
A clear or colored (often milky) liquid produced by plants.
latitudinal latitudinal
Perpendicular to the main axis.
lax lax
Loose, open; drooping.
leaf leaf
A flattened, lateral appendage of the axis of a plant that conducts photosynthesis.
leaflet leaflet
One of the expanded, first-order-division portions of a compound leaf.
leafule leafule
The ultimate segment of a twice-compound leaf (the division of a leaflet).
legume legume
The fruit pod characteristic to species of the Fabaceae (the species are also referred to as "legumes").
lemma lemma
In grasses (Poaceae), the outer of the two bracts enclosing a floret.
lenticel lenticel
A small, corky dot or streak on the bark or roots of woody plants, normally arising around pores.
lenticular lenticular
Lens-shaped; in cross-section with two convex surfaces.
lepidote lepidote
Covered with small scales.
leptosporangiate leptosporangiate
With a sporangium one cell layer thick, and an annulus and stalk (compare eusporangiate).
liana liana
A woody, climbing or trailing plant that does not support its own weight.
ligule ligule
A projection or collar on the leaf sheath of grasses (Poaceae), Cyperaceae, or a small triangle of tissue on the fertile leaves of quillworts (Isoetes species) or Selaginella.
ligules
Plural of ligule.
limb limb
The expanded portion of a tubular corolla, in front of the throat.
linear linear
Very narrow, with more or less parallel sides, narrower than lanceolate.
lip lip
A projecting portion of a corolla or calyx whose petals or sepals are fused into a tube.
lobe lobe
A projection from an edge of a plant structure (such as a leaf), larger than a tooth.
locule locule
Chamber containing seeds in an ovary.
loment loment
A schizocarp of some plants in the Fabaceae composed of one-seeded parts that separate from each other.
lycophyte
The group broadly containing the Lycopodiaceae, Selaginellaceae, Huperziaceae, and Isoetaceae - spore-bearing plants usually with tiny leaves.