Just for Kids - Wildflower Vocabulary
A
Adapt – To grow and change in response to environmental conditions.
Adaptation – Special body features or behaviors adapted to the environment.
Anther – The part of the stamen where pollen is produced.
B
Biodiversity – The diverse variety of life forms: different plants, animals and micro-organisms; and the eco-systems they form. Genetic diversity, species diversity and ecosystem diversity.
C
Carnivore – (Secondary Consumer) Animals that don’t eat plants, but feed on animals that do eat plants.
D
Decomposer – Animal that breaks down dead or decomposing plant materials, thus recycling important nutrients and returning them to the environment.
E
Ecosystem – A dynamic system of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and non-living components interacting as an ecological unit.
Endangered – Animal or plant species in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of their range due loss of habitat, over exploitation, competition or disease.
Environment – Complex web of inter-relationships between living organisms and non-living components, which sustain all life on earth.
F
Fauna – All of the animals found in an area.
Flora – All of the plants found in an area.
Food Web – A group of interlinked food chains. Involves herbivores, omnivores, carnivores, scavengers and decomposers, so that no available source of energy is allowed to go to waste.
H
Habitat – Place where an animal or plant lives which provides food, water, shelter.
Herbivore – (Primary Consumer) Animals that eat primarily plants.
L
Leaf – The flat part of a plant or tree that grows from a stem or branch and acts as a "food factory."
Leaf blade – The broad, expanded part of a leaf.
M
Metamorphosis – The process of change from young to adult.
Migration – The seasonal, usually 2-way movement from habitat to another to avoid unfavorable climatic conditions.
N
Native – Indigenous to and dwelling within a specific area for an entire lifespan.
Nectar – A sugary fluid produced by flowers to attract animal pollinators.
O
Ovary – The enlarged basal portion of the pistil where ovules are produced.
P
Peduncle – The stalk of a flower.
Petal – Colorful flower parts that surround the floral reproductive structures.
Petiole – The stalk of a leaf.
Pistil – The ovule producing part of a flower. The ovary often supports a long style, topped by a stigma. The mature ovary is a fruit, and the mature ovule is a seed.
Pollen – Pollen bears sperm for plant reproduction.
Pollen Tube – Tube formed after germination of the pollen grain. It carries the male reproductive information to the ovule.
Pollinated – A flower in which the female parts of a flower have received pollen from the male parts of the same flower, or another flower.
Pollination – The spreading of pollen from the male parts to the female parts of a flower of the same species, resulting in the production of seeds and fruits.
Pollinator – Animal that carries pollen from the male parts of flowers to the female parts, fertilizing plant “eggs” with plant “sperm.”
Primary Producer – All food chains begin with green plants (“primary producers”) with a process called photosynthesis. Energy from the sun lands on plants and is collected by chlorophyll, with which plants make sugar and oxygen, food for other animals.
R
Receptacle – The part of a flower stalk where the parts of the flower are attached.
S
Seed – Part of the plant that is capable of growing (germinating) and producing a new plant.
Sepal – The outer parts of the flower (often green and leaf-like) that enclose a developing bud.
Stamen – The pollen producing part of a flower, usually with a slender filament supporting the anther.
Stem – The green stalk that holds the flower up.
Stigma – The part of the pistil where pollen germinates.
T
Threatened – Species likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future, without special protection and management efforts.