BOTANY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does botany mean? 

• BOTANY (noun)
  The noun BOTANY has 2 senses:

1. all the plant life in a particular region or period

2. the branch of biology that studies plants

  Familiarity information: BOTANY used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BOTANY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

All the plant life in a particular region or period

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

botany; flora; vegetation

Context example:

the botany of China

Hypernyms ("botany" is a kind of...):

accumulation; aggregation; assemblage; collection (several things grouped together or considered as a whole)

Domain category:

flora; plant; plant life ((botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion)

Domain member category:

cut; mown ((used of grass or vegetation) cut down with a hand implement or machine)

uncut; unmown ((used of grass or vegetation) not cut down with a hand implement or machine)

sprouted ((of growing vegetation) having just emerged from the ground)

dried-up; sear; sere; shriveled; shrivelled; withered ((used especially of vegetation) having lost all moisture)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "botany"):

browse (vegetation (such as young shoots, twigs, and leaves) that is suitable for animals to eat)

brush; brushwood; coppice; copse; thicket (a dense growth of bushes)

growth (vegetation that has grown)

bush; chaparral; scrub (dense vegetation consisting of stunted trees or bushes)

stand (a growth of similar plants (usually trees) in a particular area)

forest; wood; woods (the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area)

shrubbery (a collection of shrubs growing together)

garden (the flowers or vegetables or fruits or herbs that are cultivated in a garden)

brier; brier patch; brierpatch (tangled mass of prickly plants)

ground cover; groundcover (low-growing plants planted in deep shade or on a steep slope where turf is difficult to grow)

Holonyms ("botany" is a member of...):

biology; biota (all the plant and animal life of a particular region)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The branch of biology that studies plants

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

botany; phytology

Hypernyms ("botany" is a kind of...):

biological science; biology (the science that studies living organisms)

Domain member category:

flora; plant; plant life ((botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion)

etiolation ((botany) the act of causing a plant to develop without chlorophyll by growing it without exposure to sunlight)

dissilience (the emergence of seeds as seed pods burst open when they are ripe)

aestivation; estivation ((botany) the arrangement of sepals and petals in a flower bud before it opens)

division ((botany) taxonomic unit of plants corresponding to a phylum)

venation ((botany) the arrangement of veins in a leaf)

vernation ((botany) the arrangement of young leaves in a leaf bud before it opens)

scurf ((botany) a covering that resembles scales or bran that covers some plant parts)

natural scientist; naturalist (a biologist knowledgeable about natural history (especially botany and zoology))

kingdom Plantae; plant kingdom; Plantae ((botany) the taxonomic kingdom comprising all living or extinct plants)

annual ((botany) a plant that completes its entire life cycle within the space of a year)

biennial ((botany) a plant having a life cycle that normally takes two seasons from germination to death to complete; flowering biennials usually bloom and fruit in the second season)

perennial ((botany) a plant lasting for three seasons or more)

style ((botany) the narrow elongated part of the pistil between the ovary and the stigma)

germ tube ((botany) a slender tubular outgrowth from a spore in germination)

pollen tube ((botany) a slender tubular outgrowth from a pollen grain when deposited on the stigma for a flower; it penetrates the style and conveys the male gametes to the ovule)

peristome ((botany) fringe of toothlike appendages surrounding the mouth of a moss capsule)

embryo ((botany) a minute rudimentary plant contained within a seed or an archegonium)

corolla ((botany) the whorl of petals of a flower that collectively form an inner floral envelope or layer of the perianth)

corona ((botany) the trumpet-shaped or cup-shaped outgrowth of the corolla of a daffodil or narcissus flower)

calyx ((botany) the whorl of sepals of a flower collectively forming the outer floral envelope or layer of the perianth enclosing and supporting the developing bud; usually green)

lip ((botany) either of the two parts of a bilabiate corolla or calyx)

papilla ((botany) a tiny outgrowth on the surface of a petal or leaf)

pitcher ((botany) a leaf that that is modified in such a way as to resemble a pitcher or ewer)

apophysis ((botany) a natural swelling or enlargement: at the base of the stalk or seta in certain mosses or on the cone scale of certain conifers)

callus ((botany) an isolated thickening of tissue, especially a stiff protuberance on the lip of an orchid)

blister ((botany) a swelling on a plant similar to that on the skin)

coma ((botany) a usually terminal tuft of bracts (as in the pineapple) or tuft of hairs (especially on certain seeds))

bast; phloem ((botany) tissue that conducts synthesized food substances (e.g., from leaves) to parts where needed; consists primarily of sieve tubes)

root ((botany) the usually underground organ that lacks buds or leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground)

taproot ((botany) main root of a plant growing straight downward from the stem)

spike ((botany) an indeterminate inflorescence bearing sessile flowers on an unbranched axis)

leaf node; node ((botany) the small swelling that is the part of a plant stem from which one or more leaves emerge)

lobe ((botany) a part into which a leaf is divided)

ligule ((botany) any appendage to a plant that is shaped like a strap)

apogamy ((botany) development of an embryo without fertilization; especially the development in some ferns of a sporophyte from the gametophyte without fertilization)

cohesion ((botany) the process in some plants of parts growing together that are usually separate (such as petals))

foliation; leafing ((botany) the process of forming leaves)

parthenocarpy ((botany) the development of a fruit without fertilization or seeds)

growth regulator; phytohormone; plant hormone ((botany) a plant product that acts like a hormone)

cork; phellem ((botany) outer tissue of bark; a protective layer of dead cells)

sporulate (convert into spores)

invaginate (sheathe)

sporulate (produce spores)

acroscopic (facing or on the side toward the apex)

basiscopic (facing or on the side toward the base)

acropetal (of leaves or flowers; developing or opening in succession from base to apex)

basipetal (of leaves or flowers; developing or opening in succession from apex to base)

basifixed (attached by its base (as certain anthers to their filaments or stalks))

comal; comate; comose (of certain seeds (such as cotton) having a tuft or tufts of hair)

carpellate; pistillate (bearing or consisting of carpels)

acarpellous; acarpelous (having no carpels)

cauline (especially of leaves; growing on a stem especially on the upper part of a stem)

basal; radical (especially of leaves; located at the base of a plant or stem; especially arising directly from the root or rootstock or a root-like stem)

caulescent; cauline; stemmed ((of plants) producing a well-developed stem above ground)

acaulescent; stemless ((of plants) having no apparent stem above ground)

outward-developing (away from an axis, as in a flower cluster in which the oldest flowers are in the center, the youngest near the edge)

inward-developing (toward an axis, as in a sunflower; the oldest flowers are near the edge, the youngest in the center)

chlamydeous (having a floral envelope or perianth consisting of a calyx and/or corolla)

achlamydeous (not having a floral envelope or perianth)

brachiate (having widely spreading paired branches)

comate; comose (bearing a coma; crowned with an assemblage of branches or leaves or bracts)

cyclic (forming a whorl or having parts arranged in a whorl)

acyclic (not cyclic; especially having parts arranged in spirals rather than whorls)

annual; one-year (completing its life cycle within a year)

biennial; two-year (having a life cycle lasting two seasons)

perennial (lasting three seasons or more)

determinate (not continuing to grow indefinitely at the apex)

cymose (having a usually flat-topped flower cluster in which the main and branch stems each end in a flower that opens before those below it or to its side)

indeterminate (having a capacity for continuing to grow at the apex)

racemose (having stalked flowers along an elongated stem that continue to open in succession from below as the stem continues to grow)

dextrorsal; dextrorse (spiraling upward from left to right)

sinistrorsal; sinistrorse (spiraling upward from right to left)

precocious (appearing or developing early)

autogamic; autogamous (characterized by or fit for autogamy)

endogamic; endogamous (characterized by or fit for fertilization by pollen from another flower of the same kind)

exogamic; exogamous (characterized by or fit for fertilization by a flower that is not closely related)

fastigiate (having clusters of erect branches (often appearing to form a single column))

aerial (existing or living or growing or operating in the air)

antheral; staminate (capable of fertilizing female organs)

pistillate (having gynoecia, or pistils, the ovule-bearing organ of a seed plant)

monoclinous (having pistils and stamens in the same flower)

diclinous (having pistils and stamens in separate flowers)

capsulate; capsulated (used of seeds or spores that are enclosed in a capsule)

opposite; paired (of leaves etc; growing in pairs on either side of a stem)

alternate (of leaves and branches etc; first on one side and then on the other in two ranks along an axis; not paired)

ariled; arillate ((of some seeds) having a fleshy and usually brightly colored cover)

foliate ((often used as a combining form) having or resembling a leaf or having a specified kind or number of leaves)

foliolate ((often used as a combining form) having leaflets (compound leaves) or a specified kind or number of leaflets)

aphyllous (having no leaves)

scapose (resembling or consisting of a scape; having a bare leafless stalk growing directly from the ground)

bilabiate; two-lipped (having two lips)

cancellate; cancellated; clathrate (having a latticelike structure pierced with holes or windows)

terete (especially of plant parts; cylindrical and tapering)

torulose (of a cylindrical or ellipsoid body; swollen and constricted at intervals)

simple; unsubdivided ((botany) of leaf shapes; of leaves having no divisions or subdivisions)

compound (composed of more than one part)

aggregate (composed of a dense cluster of separate units such as carpels or florets or drupelets)

double (used of flowers having more than the usual number of petals in crowded or overlapping arrangements)

single (used of flowers having usually only one row or whorl of petals)

bullate (of leaves; appearing puckered as if blistered)

imbricate; imbricated (used especially of leaves or bracts; overlapping or layered as scales or shingles)

squamulose (covered with tiny scales)

rugose (of leaves; ridged or wrinkled)

smooth (of the margin of a leaf shape; not broken up into teeth)

rough (of the margin of a leaf shape; having the edge cut or fringed or scalloped)

convolute; convoluted (rolled longitudinally upon itself)

involute; rolled (especially of petals or leaves in bud; having margins rolled inward)

bifid (divided into two lobes)

pentamerous (divided into five parts; specifically, having each floral whorl consist of five (or a multiple of five) members)

trifid (divided into three lobes)

assurgent (growing or extending upward)

ligneous (consisting of or containing lignin or xylem)

alliaceous (of or pertaining to the botanical genus Allium)

apogametic; apogamic; apogamous (of or relating to the development of an embryo in the absence of fertilization)

apomictic; apomictical (of or relating to a plant that reproduces by apomixis)

apothecial (of or relating to the apothecium of some lichens and fungi)

archegonial; archegoniate (of or relating to an archegonium)

archesporial (of or relating to the cells in a sporangium that give rise to spores)

araceous; aroid (relating to a plant of the family Araceae)

arthrosporic; arthrosporous (of or relating to arthrospores)

asclepiadaceous (of or relating to plants of the milkweed family)

ascocarpous (of or relating to ascocarps)

ascosporic; ascosporous (of or relating to ascospores)

autophytic; autotrophic (of or relating to organisms (as green plants) that can make complex organic nutritive compounds from simple inorganic sources by photosynthesis)

heterotrophic (requiring organic compounds of carbon and nitrogen for nourishment)

axial; axile (relating to or attached to the axis)

basidiomycetous (pertaining to or characteristic of fungi of the class Basidiomycetes)

basidiosporous (of or relating to or characterized by spores produced by basidia)

bicapsular (divided into two capsules or having a two-part capsule)

calyceal; calycinal; calycine (of or relating to or resembling a calyx)

cambial (of or relating to or functioning as a cambium)

capsular (of or relating to a capsule)

composite (of or relating to or belonging to the plant family Compositae)

homostyled; homostylic; homostylous ((botany) having styles all of the same length)

panicled (having panicles; occurring in panicles)

self-pollinating (of or relating to or characteristic of self-pollination)

umbelliform (resembling or in the form of an umbel)

umbelliferous (relating to or belonging to plants of the family Umbelliferae)

cruciferous (of or relating to or belonging to the plant family Cruciferae)

tomentose (covered with densely matted filaments)

epiphytic (of or relating to epiphytes)

lithophytic (of or relating to lithophytes)

myrmecophytic (of or relating to myrmecophytes)

bladed (having a blade or blades; often used in combination)

spicate (having or relating to spikes)

alar; axillary (of or relating to the axil)

paniculate (having a panicle)

phyllodial (having a phyllode)

involucrate (having an involucre)

bryophytic (relating to plants of the division Bryophyta)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "botany"):

mycology (the branch of botany that studies fungi and fungus-caused diseases)

pomology (the branch of botany that studies and cultivates fruits)

palaeobotany; paleobotany (the study of fossil plants)

algology; phycology (the branch of botany that studies algae)

pteridology (the branch of botany that studies ferns)

Derivation:

botanic; botanical (of or relating to plants or botany)

botanise (collect and study plants)

botanist (a biologist specializing in the study of plants)

botanize (collect and study plants)

Domain member category:

herbaceous (characteristic of a nonwoody herb or plant part)

 Context examples 

She entered into a discourse on botany with the gentle Mrs. Dent.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The books were of the most varied kind—history, geography, politics, political economy, botany, geology, law—all relating to England and English life and customs and manners.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

With a spud, a tin box, and an elementary book on botany, there are instructive days to be spent.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Botany; the branch of biology that studies plants.

(Botany, NCI Thesaurus)

Botany variable, geology profound as regards the mud-stains from any region within fifty miles of town, chemistry eccentric, anatomy unsystematic, sensational literature and crime records unique, violin-player, boxer, swordsman, lawyer, and self-poisoner by cocaine and tobacco.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)