Glossary - The Pollination Biology of North American Orchids: North of Florida and Mexico - page 192

Ovule A sporangium containing the female gamete and other haploid nuclei in a
central embryo sac, the surrounding nucellus or megasporangium, and one or two
layers of protective integument; develops into a seed following fertilization.
Pandurate Constricted in the middle with rounded ends, violin-shaped.
Papilla (pl. papillae), papillose A small rounded projection or nipple-like struc-
ture, usually from an epidermal cell, often considered a type or trichome.
Parthenocarpy (parthenocarpic) The development of the ovary of a flower into
a fruit without fertilization. Fruits that develop parthenocarpically are typically
seedless.
Pedicel The stalks immediately beneath single flowers attaching them to the main
axis (peduncle) of an inflorescence.
Peduncle The primary stalk of an inflorescence or of a solitary flower.
Perennial A plant that survives year after year.
Perianth The sepals and petals or tepals of a flower.
Pericarp The wall of the fruit derived from the wall of the matured ovary.
Petal An individual segment of the corolla generally positioned just inside the
sepals when both are present, often colorful and showy.
pH A measure of acidity or alkalinity based on the hydrogen ion concentration; a
reduction in pH represents a decrease in alkalinity and an increase in acidity.
Phenology The science studying the influence of seasonality on the recurrence of
such annual phenomena of animal and plant life as bird migration, budding etc.
Phylogenetics/Phylogeny A reconstruction of the relationships and evolutionary
history of organisms.
Pollen Initially one-celled microspores produced by microsporogenesis in anthers,
subsequently giving rise to the male gametophytes.
Pollen-tube An outgrowth from the pollen grain that usually emerges through an
aperture in the pollen wall and grows through the styler tissue toward an ovule
where it enters and releases its gametes.
Pollinarium (pl. pollinaria) A functional unit of pollen transfer usually consisting
of pollen packets (pollinia), a stalk, and a viscidium.
Pollination biology Study of the mechanisms and processes involved in the
pollination of flowers.
Pollinator limitation The condition in which the number of pollinator visits limits
the number of seeds or fruits produced.
Pollinium (pl. Pollinia) A coherent and more or less compact mass of pollen
grains.
Prementum In insects, the basal component of the distal part of the labium (prela-
bium) which bears laterally a pair of segmented labial palpi.
Primitive An ancestral or plesiomorphic feature; the term is relative and the same
character may be primitive in one group and derived or advanced in another.
Proboscis (pl. Proboscises) In insects, elongate, beaklike mouthparts adapted for
sucking or piercing.
Protandrous (Protandry) Condition where the anthers dehisce before the pistil in
the same flower reaches maturity.