//----------------------------------------------- // GLOSSARY START addGlossaryItem('aeration', '

To expose to oxygen.

'); addGlossaryItem('angiosperms', '

Flowering plants.

'); addGlossaryItem('annual', '

A short-lived plant which completes its life cycle in a single growing season. It germinates from seed, flowers, produces fruit, sets seed and then dies.

e.g. petunia, marigold, pansy.

'); addGlossaryItem('axe', '

The upper angle between the leaf stalk and the stem that bears it.

'); addGlossaryItem('axil', '

The upper angle between the leaf stalk and the stem that bears it.

'); addGlossaryItem('axillary bud', '

The bud located between the stem and the leaf petiole.

'); addGlossaryItem('biennial', '

A plant that completes its life cycle in two years. The first year the plant grows, forming the stem and leaves and storing food in its roots.

The second year it flowers, fruits, sets seed and then dies.

e.g. carrot, aquilegia, wallflower.

'); addGlossaryItem('bare-rooted', '

Bare-rooted plants are deciduous plants that have been grown in the ground and then lifted out for planting during winter months. They have had the soil removed from their roots and the roots pruned.

'); addGlossaryItem('binomial system', '

Consisting of or relating to two names or terms.

'); addGlossaryItem('botanical name', '

Scientific name given to a plant. Commonly includes family, genus and species.

e.g. the botanical name for the River Red Gum is:

MYRTACEAE Eucalyptus camaldulensis.

'); addGlossaryItem('botany', '

The scientific study of plants. This includes the internal and external structure of plants and also plant function.

'); addGlossaryItem('broadcast', '

The broadcast method involves scattering seeds at random \(called \'broadcasting the seeds\'\) on the medium, then covering the seeds lightly with more medium and watering them in. This method is used to hand sow small seeds.

'); addGlossaryItem('burlapped', '

Burlapped plants are bare-rooted plants that have had their roots packed in damp sawdust and then wrapped in plastic or burlap (a type of hessian cloth) for transport to the planting site.

Note that the sawdust is used to keep the roots moist and should not be put into the planting hole.

'); addGlossaryItem('calibrate', '

To check, adjust or compare to a standard.

e.g. Checking that the amount of fertiliser broadcast by a spreader compares to the application rate that has been set.

'); addGlossaryItem('cell pack', '

A tray divided into a number of smaller cells to allow individual planting of seeds or cuttings.

'); addGlossaryItem('characteristic', '

A feature that helps to distinguish a plant.
e.g. a bud cap or operculum is a characteristic of the Eucalypt Genus.

'); addGlossaryItem('chlorophyll', '

The green substance found in the cells of plants.

'); addGlossaryItem('clay', '

Clay is a soil texture where particles of soil are less than 0.002 mm in size.

'); addGlossaryItem('climber', '

Upright growing plant with slender stems requiring support. Can also be described as \'scramblers\' or \'twiners\'.

e.g. grapevine and ivy.

'); addGlossaryItem('clumping plants', '

These plants reproduce themselves vegetatively by producing new plants around a parent plant, forming a clump. The clump can then be divided.

e.g. daylilies, agapanthus, cannas.

'); addGlossaryItem('common name', '

Everyday name for a plant.

e.g. the common name for Eucalyptus camaldulensis is:

the River Red Gum.

'); addGlossaryItem('corrosive', '

A substance capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action.

'); addGlossaryItem('compost', '

A mixture of decaying organic matter, as from leaves and manure, used to improve soil structure and provide nutrients.

'); addGlossaryItem('containerised', '

These are plants that are grown in pots or bags, and sold in these containers. At planting, the container must be removed, but all potting mix around the roots should be incorporated into the planting hole.

'); addGlossaryItem('cryptic', '

Having hidden meaning, mystifying.

'); addGlossaryItem('cultivator', '

Three-prong (tine) garden implement which is good for loosening topsoil or removing small weeds.

'); addGlossaryItem('cultural conditions', '

Conditions relating to cultivation. How, where and when a plant may be used and what factors may interfere with its growth.

e.g. details including horticultural uses, climate and aspect, soils, pruning, propagation and pests and diseases.

'); addGlossaryItem('data', '

Information that is known or available, especially numbers or measurements. For example, you record data about the hours you work on a time sheet.

'); addGlossaryItem('deciduous', '

Deciduous plants are plants that shed their leaves seasonally in unfavourable growing conditions. The growth of the plant slows down and goes into a dormant period. This is usually in autumn/winter.

e.g. ash, elm, willow and all stone fruit trees such as plum and apricot.

Some plants are deciduous at other times of the year.

e.g. fiddlewood, kurrajong and boab.

Plants, particularly tropical plants, sometimes flower during their dormant period.

'); addGlossaryItem('defoliation', '

The plant loses its leaves. This is one of the telltale signs of water stress.

'); addGlossaryItem('diameter', '

Thickness or width.

'); addGlossaryItem('dibbler', '

A stick for making holes in media.

'); addGlossaryItem('dicotyledon', '

A flowering plant with two seed leaves (cotyledons). Other characteristics include:

e.g. herbs, shrubs, trees, woody-green annuals or perennials.

'); addGlossaryItem('disease', '

Any plant ailment that has been caused by a living organism (pathogen).

'); addGlossaryItem('drainage', '

A system that removes water from something.

'); addGlossaryItem('drill', '

The drill method involves sowing each seed individually.

'); addGlossaryItem('duty of care', '

The responsibilities for employers, employees and others who control the workplace, design and construct buildings, or manufacture and supply chemicals and plant, to take reasonable measures to protect themselves and others in the workplace. State and Federal Governments provide legislation to cover all workplaces in Australia.

'); addGlossaryItem('espalier', '

A tree or shrub trained to grow flat across a wall.

'); addGlossaryItem('evergreen', '

Evergreen plants are plants that keep their leaves throughout the year. Old leaves are shed and are replaced in small numbers throughout the year.

Many native Australian plants such as the eucalyptus are evergreens. Other examples of evergreens include camellias, olives and citrus fruit trees.

'); addGlossaryItem('family name', '

A biological category made up of a number of genera.

'); addGlossaryItem('ferns', '

Non-flowering plants that reproduce from spores or division. Non-branching with a tree-like or clumping habit. Fronds instead of leaves.

'); addGlossaryItem('floral bud', '

A bud that will develop into a flower.

'); addGlossaryItem('flower', '

The reproductive structure of a flowering plant. Flowers are unique to angiosperms.

'); addGlossaryItem('fruit', '

The covering or outside coating which protects the developing seeds.

e.g. peach, olive

'); addGlossaryItem('fungicidal drench', '

A product that is used to kill fungus

'); addGlossaryItem('fungicide', '

A product that is used to kill fungus.

'); addGlossaryItem('fungus', '

A non-flowering plant that lacks chlorophyll.

'); addGlossaryItem('gall', '

Any unusual growth or excretion on plants caused by living and non-living agents.

'); addGlossaryItem('genus', '

A biological category made up of a number of species of organisms showing similar characteristics.

'); addGlossaryItem('germinate', '

To sprout or grow.

'); addGlossaryItem('girdle scar', '

Scars left by the previous years terminal bud. These form a series of tiny rings around the stem.

The distance between girdle scars indicates the amount of growth that deciduous stems make during one year. The number of girdle scars down a stem indicates the number of years of growth.

'); addGlossaryItem('grass', '

Mostly herbaceous monocotyledons with jointed stems and slender, sheathing leaves.

'); addGlossaryItem('gravel', '

An unconsolidated mixture of rock fragments or pebbles.

'); addGlossaryItem('ground cover', '

Low growing, ground hugging, mat forming plant with horizontal stems.

e.g. strawberry

'); addGlossaryItem('growth habit', '

How a plant grows or what it normally does.

e.g. Eucalyptus camaldulensis is a tall tree whilst Juneperus horizontalis is a spreading groundcover.

'); addGlossaryItem('gymnosperms', '

Cone-bearing plants.

'); addGlossaryItem('habitat', '

The place where a plant grows. The wide diversity of plants means that a plants habitat could be a:

Some plants, such as epiphytes, grow in the air, just using other plants to support them.

'); addGlossaryItem('hazards', '

Something that has the potential to cause injury or an accident. For example, any moving parts on a tractor have the potential to cause injury and are therefore regarded as hazards.

'); addGlossaryItem('height', '

How tall a plant will grow.

'); addGlossaryItem('herbaceous', '

A soft, green, non-woody plant.

'); addGlossaryItem('herbaceous perennial', '

Soft green or non-woody plant. Can be a clumping plant and may survive from year to year with underground parts such as bulbs, corms and rhizomes.

e.g. Iris, daffodil, tulip, couch grass and kangaroo paw.

'); addGlossaryItem('hormone', '

Substances found in plants and insects that regulate development.

'); addGlossaryItem('host', '

The plant on or in which the pest or disease is living.

'); addGlossaryItem('hydraulics', '

A system which uses oil under pressure to lift a load.

e.g. Hydraulics provide the power to lift and lower towed implements on tractors.'); addGlossaryItem('hydrophytes', '

Plants which live in or near water.

e.g. water lilies, duckweed and mangrove trees.

'); addGlossaryItem('hygiene', '

Conditions and practices that serve to promote or preserve health.

'); addGlossaryItem('inferior ovary', '

The ovary is below (inferior to) the flower parts. The flower is said to be epigynous (epi - above; gynous - gynocium).

e.g. apple, iris.

'); addGlossaryItem('inflorescence', '

A cluster of flowers arranged in a specific way on the same stalk.

'); addGlossaryItem('information', '

Knowledge given or recorded concerning some fact or circumstance. For example, you know that Nut Grass is a weed and you can provide this information to customers.

'); addGlossaryItem('injury', '

Any physical damage that is caused to a plant by a living or non-living agent.

'); addGlossaryItem('ingested', '

Taken into the body through the mouth.

'); addGlossaryItem('inorganic', '

Inorganic fertilisers contain no carbon and are manufactured with a mixture of different macro and micro nutrients depending on whether they are slow-release or quick-release fertilisers.

'); addGlossaryItem('internode', '

The part of the stem between two nodes.

'); addGlossaryItem('jargon', '

The specialised or technical language of a trade or profession.

'); addGlossaryItem('lateral growth', '

The parts of the plant which form the side shoots and stems. Sometimes these can grow horizontally (e.g. ground covers) and sometimes they can grow upwards (e.g. shrubs).

'); addGlossaryItem('lateral shoot', '

This shoot grows into a leafy shoot. It grows from an axillary bud.

'); addGlossaryItem('leach', '

Drain away.

'); addGlossaryItem('leaf', '

Green, usually flat part of a plant where photosynthesis and transpiration take place. Attached to the stem or branch.

'); addGlossaryItem('leaf scar', '

When leaves fall from the stem, they leave a scar.

'); addGlossaryItem('legible', '

When something is readable or easily understood, then it is legible.

'); addGlossaryItem('living agents', '

Living agents are any organisms that cause plants to be damaged by either an injury or disease. Examples include:

Causes an injury to plants

Causes a disease in plants

insects
snails and slugs
animals such as rabbits, dogs, cats, rodents
parasitic plants
worms (nematodes)
mites
man

fungi
mould
algae
viruses
bacteria

'); addGlossaryItem('loam', '

Soil composed of a mixture of sand, clay, silt, and organic matter.

'); addGlossaryItem('lower case', '

Non-capitalised letters.

e.g. "a" rather than "A"

'); addGlossaryItem('macro nutrients', '

Chemical nutrients that are sometimes required in large quantities by plants. They include:

Carbon

Obtained from carbon dioxide in the air.

Hydrogen

Obtained from water taken up from the soil.

Oxygen

Nitrogen

Nutrients taken up from the soil solution.

Sulfur

Potassium

Calcium

Magnesium

'); addGlossaryItem('malady', '

Something that is wrong with a plant.

'); addGlossaryItem('margin', '

The edge of the leaf.

'); addGlossaryItem('medium', '

The singular term used for potting mix. Media is the plural term used when talking about many different types of potting mix.

'); addGlossaryItem('micro nutrients', '

These chemical nutrients are also known as \'trace elements\' and are required in smaller amounts by plants. They include:

Iron

Nutrients taken up from the soil solution.

Manganese

Zinc

Copper

Boron

Molybdenum

Chlorine

Please note: Cobalt is sometimes considered a micro nutrient because the bacteria in nitrogen-releasing legumes find it beneficial; however, technically speaking it is not.

'); addGlossaryItem('monocotyledon', '

A flowering plant with one seed leaf (cotyledon). Other characteristics include:

e.g. herbaceous plants, soft, green and non-woody. Lilies, kangaroo paws, wheat, daffodils, palms.

'); addGlossaryItem('mule', '

No this is not a small but strong species of horse. A mule, in horticultural terms, is a fuel powered, ride on vehicle used for various jobs around the worksite.

'); addGlossaryItem('nodes', '

The point on a stem where a leaf is attached or has been attached.

'); addGlossaryItem('non-living agent', '

Non-living agents are any factors that cause an injury to plants. Examples include:

'); addGlossaryItem('nursery stock garden', '

Some nurseries have a garden bed planted out with a variety of plants that are used for propagation purposes.

'); addGlossaryItem('nutrient deficiency', '

Nutrient deficiency occurs as a result of applying too little fertiliser when plants dont receive enough nutrients, and causes the plants not to grow as well as they should.

'); addGlossaryItem('nutrient toxicity', '

Nutrient toxicity occurs as a result of applying too much fertiliser when plants receive more nutrients than they need, and causes the plants not to grow well or even die through poisoning.

'); addGlossaryItem('operators manual', '

A booklet supplied with a vehicle/piece of machinery which gives important information to the user on:

'); addGlossaryItem('origin', '

Where something came from.

'); addGlossaryItem('organic', '

Organic fertilisers contain carbon and can be natural or manufactured. Examples include manures made from animal excrement and blood and bone made from waste products from abattoirs.

'); addGlossaryItem('palm', '

Monocotyledon with tree-like habit. Non-branching. Flowers and fruit.

'); addGlossaryItem('parent plant', '

Original plant from which new plants grow or are propagated.

'); addGlossaryItem('pasteurise', '

To treat with steam so that only harmful organisms such as fungi and bacteria are killed.

'); addGlossaryItem('parallel venation', '

Veins run in parallel lines on the leaf.

'); addGlossaryItem('pathogen', '

Any organism capable of causing a disease.

'); addGlossaryItem('payload', '

The cargo or load being carried by a vehicle.

'); addGlossaryItem('pedicel', '

The stalk of the flower.

'); addGlossaryItem('pericarp', '

The wall of a ripened ovary. The fruit wall.

'); addGlossaryItem('perennial', '

A plant that lives for three years or more.

'); addGlossaryItem('pest', '

A harmful organism causing damage to a plant.

'); addGlossaryItem('petiole', '

The leaf stalk. Some leaves have a very short petiole, and sometimes there is no petiole at all.

'); addGlossaryItem('pH', '

pH is a measurement of how acid or alkaline a substance such as soil is. The pH of a substance is measured on a scale of 0 to 14. The midpoint is 7 and this is called neutral. A pH of less than 7 means the substance is acidic. A pH of more than 7 means the substance is alkaline. The most suitable pH range for most plants is 5.5 to 7.

'); addGlossaryItem('plant profile sheet', '

Form used to help identify and record various characteristics and habits of plants.

'); addGlossaryItem('pliers', '

Small pincers with strong leverage. Used for bending and cutting wire etc.

'); addGlossaryItem('polarity', '

Polarity refers to planting the cutting the right way up. The top part of the cutting should be the part that was uppermost when the stem was still attached to the parent plant. If you dont ensure the correct polarity when planting the cutting, it will not strike.

'); addGlossaryItem('pollinator', '

Animals, insects and birds which help transfer pollen.

'); addGlossaryItem('power take off', '

A shaft between the tractor and a towed implement that uses the tractor engine to drive it.

'); addGlossaryItem('pre-start checks', '

Checks done on vehicles and machinery before they are used to make sure they are operating safely and reliably.

'); addGlossaryItem('prick out', '

Removing a plant from its propagation medium to repot or replant it.

'); addGlossaryItem('prickerouterer', '

Device used to make holes in media ready for seed sowing.

'); addGlossaryItem('prills', '

Round, even-sized particles of fertiliser, coated with a biodegradable plastic.

'); addGlossaryItem('pronounce', '

To say a word clearly and correctly.

'); addGlossaryItem('propagation', '

Multiply or increase, as by natural reproduction.

'); addGlossaryItem('punnet', '

Small container used for propagation of plants.

'); addGlossaryItem('rake', '

Garden implement for gathering weeds or other garden debris into a heap.

'); addGlossaryItem('rachis', '

The part of the stem where the leaflets of a compound leaf are attached.

'); addGlossaryItem('reticulation', '

Automated system for the irrigation of plants.

'); addGlossaryItem('risk', '

The possibility that a hazard could cause an injury or accident. For example, there is little risk of overhead power lines causing an accident when operating a tractor if they are a long way from where the tractor is working. However, if the tractor is working close to powerlines the risk that this hazard may cause an accident is much greater.

'); addGlossaryItem('roots', '

The usually underground portion of a plant that lacks buds, leaves, or nodes. Roots support the plant, draw minerals and water from the surrounding soil, and sometimes store food.

'); addGlossaryItem('sand', '

A sedimentary material, finer than a granule and coarser than silt, with grains between 0.06 and 2.0 millimetres in diameter.

'); addGlossaryItem('sclerophytes', '

Sclerophytes are plants with leathery leaves that reduce water loss and are suited to low rainfall areas. Australian natives and arid region plants are good examples of this plant classification.

'); addGlossaryItem('scissors', '

A cutting instrument with two blades which pivot together. Strong scissors are the safest way to cut material such as shade cloth.

'); addGlossaryItem('secateurs', '

Pruning tool.

'); addGlossaryItem('sentence case', '

The first letter of the word is in capitals and the rest are lower case
e.g. Sentence rather than sentence.

'); addGlossaryItem('sessile', '

Stalkless and attached directly at the base.

e.g. sessile leaf or flower.

'); addGlossaryItem('shovel', '

A broad bladed digging implement.

'); addGlossaryItem('shrub', '

Low growing multi-stemmed woody plant with no distinct trunk.

e.g. hibiscus, bottlebrush and lavender.

'); addGlossaryItem('sign', '

The presence of any organism or its parts or products seen on the plant, for example, spores, insect excreta or secretions, nymph skins.

'); addGlossaryItem('sledgehammer', '

For breaking rocks or hammering stakes.

'); addGlossaryItem('soil pH kit', '

A soil pH kit is used to test the pH of soil. There are two types of soil pH kits available:

Always refer to manufacturers instructions when using a soil pH kit.

'); addGlossaryItem('sorus', '

A cluster of spore cases on the underside of a fern frond.

'); addGlossaryItem('sow', '

To plant seed in soil or a potting medium.

'); addGlossaryItem('spade', '

Garden implement for digging, cutting and removal of soil. Select one with a long handle and a treaded area on top of the blade.

'); addGlossaryItem('species', '

A plant possessing a unique set of characteristics, such as flowers, fruit or other vegetative features, is termed a species. The key difference between Genus and species is that a species is capable of interbreeding successfully.

'); addGlossaryItem('specimen', '

A sample.

'); addGlossaryItem('stanley knife', '

A type of knife with a retractable blade.

'); addGlossaryItem('standard', '

In simple terms, a standard is a way of communicating the quality, reliability and safety guidelines for materials, products, methods or services to make sure they are fit for their purpose and consistently perform the way they were designed. Standards help establish procedures that can then be organised and measured.

'); addGlossaryItem('standards', '

A shrub trained as a tree with a strong vertical trunk and a spherical top. Lateral shoots are pruned from the trunk to maintain the vertical stem.

'); addGlossaryItem('stem', '

The main ascending axis of a plant; a stalk or trunk.

'); addGlossaryItem('sterilise', '

To treat with steam or chemicals to kill all organisms, whether these organisms are harmful or beneficial.

'); addGlossaryItem('strike', '

To grow new roots.

'); addGlossaryItem('stunted', '

Growth has been slowed.

'); addGlossaryItem('succulent', '

Plants with soft, fleshy or juicy parts such as leaves and stems.

e.g. aloe, agave and all cacti plants.

'); addGlossaryItem('superior ovary', '

The ovary is above (superior to) the flower parts. The flower is said to be hypogynous (hypo - below; gynous - gynocium).

'); addGlossaryItem('susceptible', '

Likely to be affected by.

'); addGlossaryItem('symptoms', '

Any visible reaction or damage caused to a plant by the presence of a pest or disease.

'); addGlossaryItem('tamp down', '

To pack down firmly. This usually applies to packing down the medium around a plant when it is first potted or transplanted.

'); addGlossaryItem('tap root', '

A prominent main root with many smaller branched or lateral roots.

'); addGlossaryItem('terminal bud', '

The bud located at the tip of the stem.

'); addGlossaryItem('terminal growth', '

This is the new growth at the tips of the stems. It is the growth heading upwards toward the sun.

'); addGlossaryItem('topiary', '

Clipping and trimming living shrubs into decorative shapes.

'); addGlossaryItem('trace elements', '

These chemical nutrients are also known as \'micro elements\' and are required in smaller amounts by plants. They include:

Iron

Nutrients taken up from the soil solution.

Manganese

Zinc

Copper

Boron

Molybdenum

Chlorine

Please note: Cobalt is sometimes considered a trace element because the bacteria in nitrogen-releasing legumes find it beneficial; however, technically speaking it is not.

'); addGlossaryItem('trade name', '

Marketing name given to a plant or product to make it more attractive to customers.

e.g. Butterfly Bush and Mozzie Buster.

'); addGlossaryItem('tree', '

A tall-growing, woody plant with a single main stem/trunk with a distinct elevated canopy. More than 3-5 metres tall.

e.g. willows, gums and wattles.

'); addGlossaryItem('tunnel house', '

A horticultural structure with a dome or tunnel-shaped roof.

'); addGlossaryItem('unique', '

The only one of its kind.

'); addGlossaryItem('vegetative bud', '

A bud that will develop into a leafy shoot.

'); addGlossaryItem('vermiculite', '

A mineral which, when heated, forms a spongy, lightweight medium ideal for propagating plants.

'); addGlossaryItem('water stress', '

When plants are deprived of water they display telltale signs that they need watering. This includes:

'); addGlossaryItem('weed', '

A weed is a plant that grows where it is not wanted. See the Botany File for examples of various weeds with a brief description of their main characteristics and how to control them. The two main types are:

Annual weed

Any weed that germinates, grows to maturity, flowers, sets seed and then dies all in one growing season. This is usually more than three months but less than 12 months.

Perennial weed

Any weed that germinates, grows to maturity, flowers, sets seed and then continues to grow in a repeating cycle for more that two years.

'); addGlossaryItem('width', '

How far a plant will spread out.

'); addGlossaryItem('wilting', '

The plants leaves are limp and drooping. This is one of the telltale signs of water stress.

'); addGlossaryItem('wire cutters', '

Wire cutters are suitable for cutting wire and shade cloth clips.

'); addGlossaryItem('woody perennial', '

Trees and shrubs with woody tissue that live for more than two years.

'); // GLOSSARY END // -----------------------------------------------