A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word cactus derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek word κάκτος (káktos), a name originally used by Theophrastus for a spiny plant whose identity is now not certain. Cacti occur in a wide range of shapes and sizes. They are native to the Americas, ranging from Patagonia in the south to parts of western Canada in the north, with the exception of Rhipsalis baccifera, which is also found in Africa and Sri Lanka. Cacti are adapted to live in very dry environments, including the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth. Because of this, cacti show many adaptations to conserve water. For example, almost all cacti are succulents, meaning they have thickened, fleshy parts adapted to store water. Unlike many other succulents, the stem is the only part of most cacti where this vital process takes place. Most species of cacti have lost true leaves, retaining only spines, which are highly modified leaves. As well as defending against herbivores, spines help prevent water loss by reducing air flow close to the cactus and providing some shade. In the absence of true leaves, cacti's enlarged stems carry out photosynthesis.
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed on the axis of a plant. The modifications can involve the length and the nature of the internodes and the phyllotaxis, as well as variations in the proportions, compressions, swellings, adnations, connations and reduction of main and secondary axes. One can also define an inflorescence as the reproductive portion of a plant that bears a cluster of flowers in a specific pattern.
Juncaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the rush family. It consists of 8 genera and about 464 known species of slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous monocotyledonous plants that may superficially resemble grasses and sedges. They often grow on infertile soils in a wide range of moisture conditions. The best-known and largest genus is Juncus. Most of the Juncus species grow exclusively in wetland habitats. A few rushes, such as Juncus bufonius are annuals, but most are perennials.
This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnifying lens. This page provides help in understanding the numerous other pages describing plants by their various taxa. The accompanying page—Plant morphology—provides an overview of the science of the external form of plants. There is also an alphabetical list: Glossary of botanical terms. In contrast, this page deals with botanical terms in a systematic manner, with some illustrations, and organized by plant anatomy and function in plant physiology.
Juncus articulatus is a flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae. It is known by the common name jointleaf rush or jointed rush, which can also refer to J. kraussii from Australia. It is native to Eurasia, Canada, Greenland, and much of the United States. It grows in moist areas, such as wet sand, and thrives in calcareous soils. J. articulatus was found to be more sensitive to drought and salt stress than its congeners J. acutus and J. maritimus. It is a perennial herb producing mainly erect stems from a short rhizome. The stem may root at nodes, and it generally has one or more flattened hollow cylindrical leaves up to 10 centimeters long. Transverse internal partitions or joints may be seen or felt in the leaf of the plant.
This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary of leaf morphology. For other related terms, see Glossary of phytopathology, Glossary of lichen terms, and List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names.
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, stores nutrients, and produces new living tissue. The stem can also be called halm or haulm or culms.
Juncus bolanderi is a species of rush known by the common name Bolander's rush. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern California, where it grows in many types of wet habitat, such as marshes, beaches, and meadows. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb forming bunches of smooth stems up to about 80 centimeters long. The inflorescence is made up of one or more clusters of many tiny flowers accompanied by one long bract. Each flower has brown, pointed segments each about 3 millimeters long.
Juncus bryoides is a species of rush known by the common names moss rush and mosslike dwarf rush. It is native to western North America from Oregon to Baja California, where it grows in many types of wet, sandy habitat. It is a very tiny annual herb producing erect, hair-thin stems no more than about 2 centimeters tall. Atop the stem is one flower made up of a few reddish segments 1 to 3 millimeters long which curve around the developing fruit.
Juncus hemiendytus is a species of rush known by the common name Herman's dwarf rush. It is native to the western United States, where it grows in moist places, especially areas that are wet in spring, such as vernal pools. This is a very small annual herb forming dense clumps of hair-thin reddish stems no more than about 3 centimeters tall. The tiny, thready leaves surrounding the stems are up to about 2 centimeters long. Each stem usually bears one reddish flower, which is made up of segments 2 or 3 millimeters long curving around the developing fruit.
Juncus kelloggii is a species of rush known by the common name Kellogg's dwarf rush. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California, where it grows in low, wet spots in meadows and other grassy areas, for example, vernal pools.
Juncus leiospermus is an uncommon species of rush known by the common name Red Bluff dwarf rush. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the Central Valley and adjacent Sierra Nevada foothills to the east.
Juncus orthophyllus is a species of rush known by the common name straightleaf rush native to western North America from British Columbia to California and Nevada, where it grows in moist spots in mountain habitat, such as meadows.
Juncus regelii is a species of rush known by the common name Regel's rush. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Utah, where it grows in moist mountainous habitat, such as meadows. This is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing a dense clump of flattened stems up to about 60 centimeters tall. The inflorescence is made up of one or more thin or dense clusters of up to 30 flowers each. The flower has narrow, pointed brown to greenish segments.
Juncus saximontanus is a species of rush known by the common name Rocky Mountain rush. It is native to much of western North America from Alaska to central Mexico, where it grows in wet habitat, often in mountainous areas, such as bogs and moist meadows.
Juncus triformis is an uncommon species of rush known by the common names Yosemite dwarf rush and long-styled dwarf rush.
Juncus uncialis is a species of rush known by the common names twelfth rush and inch-high rush. It is native to the western United States, where it is known from wet habitat such as vernal pools. This is a petite annual herb forming dense clumps of hair-thin green stems no more than 3 or 4 centimeters high. The inflorescence is made up of a single tiny flower atop each stem. The flower has several reddish segments about 2 to 5 millimeters long wrapped around the developing fruit.
Juncus digitatus is a rare species of rush known by the common name finger rush. It is endemic to Shasta County, California, where it is known from only two occurrences near Shingletown. It occurs in spring-moist habitat such as vernal pools in sunny locations in the foothills of the southernmost Cascade Range. The plant was first collected in 1991 and described to science as a new species in 2008.
Juncus acutiflorus, also called sharp-flowered rush, is a rush or a grassy plant of the genus Juncus. As the name suggests, the plant has notable sharp-looking flowers, flowering between July and September.
Lomandra multiflora is a perennial, rhizomatous herb found in Australia. Lomandra multiflora is also commonly known as many-flowered mat rush, mat rush and many flowered mat-lily. Lomandra multiflora is a species that is native to Australia and can be found in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory of Australia and also in Papua New Guinea. The mat rush is distributed widely in the region and common within its preferred growing conditions. The conservation status of Lomandra multiflora is considered not to be of concern and risk.
