Bio Initiative | Terminology
Annual – A plant that completes its life cycle in less than one year. Some plants are summer annuals that germinate during the spring or early summer and mature by the fall of the same year; other plants are winter annuals that germinate during the fall and mature during the spring or summer of the following year.
Anthozoa - Is a class of marine invertebrates which includes the sea anemones, stony corals and soft corals. Adult anthozoans are almost all attached to the seabed, while their larvae can disperse as part of the plankton. The basic unit of the adult is the polyp; this consists of a cylindrical column topped by a disc with a central mouth surrounded by tentacles. Sea anemones are mostly solitary, but the majority of corals are colonial, being formed by the budding of new polyps from an original, founding individual. Colonies are strengthened by calcium carbonate and other materials and take various massive, plate-like, bushy or leafy forms.
Arthropoda - Arthropods (/ˈɑːrθrəpɒd/, from Ancient Greek ἄρθρον (arthron) 'joint', and πούς (pous) 'foot' (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often mineralised with calcium carbonate, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. In order to keep growing, they must go through stages of moulting, a process by which they shed their exoskeleton to reveal a new one. They are an extremely diverse group, with up to 10 million species.
Biennial – A plant that requires two years to complete its life cycle. During the first year, a biennial typically consists of a rosette of basal leaves, while during the second year it bolts and develops one or more flowering stalks.
Bulb – This is a short underground stem that is enlarged by modified, fleshy leaves. These modified leaves contain no chlorophyll and are appressed together; they store nutrients and water for rapid growth and development during the spring. A bulb is spheroid in shape, with short coarse roots radiating from the bottom.
Cnidaria - Is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic animals found both in freshwater and marine environments, predominantly the latter. Their distinguishing feature is cnidocytes, specialized cells that they use mainly for capturing prey. Their bodies consist of mesoglea, a non-living jelly-like substance, sandwiched between two layers of epithelium that are mostly one cell thick.
Composite Flower – A flowerhead consisting of numerous small florets. This flowerhead may have ray florets (a small flower resembling a petal) and/or disk florets (a small tubular flower with tiny lobes). The florets are held together by floral bracts surrounding the base of the flower.
Evergreen - Evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.
Gardening bed - A form of gardening in which the soil is raised above ground level and usually enclosed in some way. Raised bed structures can be made of wood, rock, concrete or other materials, and can be of any size or shape. The soil is usually enriched with compost.
Habitat - In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ecological niche. Thus "habitat" is a species-specific term, fundamentally different from concepts such as environment or vegetation assemblages, for which the term "habitat-type" is more appropriate.
Insecta - Insects (from Latin insectum) are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes and one pair of antennae.
Shrub - A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen.
Taxonomy/Classification - Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types.
