Welcome to Ariadne's Forest Glossary
Glossary: I is for ... imperfect inbreeding individual.
by Ariadne Unst
Glossary of I...
Forest and Tree Home
- ice (n.)
- The frozen form of water. Because ice has a specific gravity
(0.92) less than water, ice floats on water.
- immigration (n.)
- Migration of an organism into an area where it establishes its residence permanently.
- imperfect flower (n.)
- A flower which lacks either stamens or carpels.
- inbreeding (n.)
- In plants, a breeding system where sexual reproduction involves the
interbreeding of closely related plants, such as by self-pollination.
- indehiscent (adj.)
- Not opening spontaneously when ripe. For example, acorns; also the cones of some pines that
remain closed until they experience extremely strong heat such as fire.
* Indeterminate: describes an inflorescence in which the outer or
lower flowers bloom first, allowing an indefinite elongation of the
flowering stem (compare determinate)
- indeterminate (adj.)
- A type of
where the outer or lower flowers bloom first.
The flowering stem can thus continue to grow and flower indefinitely.
- indigenous (adj.)
- Originating in or native to an area.
- individual tree
- The cutting method that describes the silvicultural system in which trees
are removed individually each year, over an entire forest or stand. The
resultant stand usually regenerates naturally and becomes all-aged.
- inferior ovary (n.)
- An ovary located below the
attachment of the
- infiltration (n.)
- Absorption and downward movement of water into the soil
- inflorescence (n.)
- The way that a plant arranges its flowers on an axis or stem.
- inhibition model of succession
- A model of succession that suggests that changes in the dominance of
plant species with time is due to:
- death and small-scale disturbances;
- variations in longevity of plant species; and
- variations in ability of species to disperse.
- Species turnover favors species with longer life spans.
- inorganic (adj.)
- Something non-living, particularly the physical and chemical
components of an organism's environment. (Also
- invasive (adj.)
- Any plant that grows so aggressively that it crowds out other plants.
Often applied to non-native species.
- involucre (n.)
- A circle of
that enclose a fruit or a cluster of flowers.
- irregular (adj.)
- A flower that is radially asymmetric in size or shape.
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