GLOSSARY

The following are terms you may hear relating to the cultivation of fuchsia's: ANTHER: The pollen bearing part of the stamen. AXIL: The angle formed by the junction of the leaf and stem from which new shoots develop. BERRY: The fleshy fruit containing the seeds; the ovary after fertilization. BIENNIAL: The term used for the process of growing a plant one year to flower the following year. BLEEDING: The loss of sap from a cut or damaged shoot of the plant. BREAK: To branch or send out new growth from dormant wood. BUD: Undeveloped shoot found in the axils of the plant; also the developing flower. CALLUS: The scab formed during the healing process of a cut surface. It also forms at the end of a cutting before rooting commences. CALYX: The sepals and tube together; the outer part of the flower. CAMBIUM: A layer of activity; dividing cells around the xylem or wood. CHLOROPHYLLS: Green colourants present in plant tissue that contain magnesium and are contained in chloroplasts. They trap blue and red light (energy) and are responsible for photosynthesis. CHLOROPLASTS: Green plastids that contain chlorophyll. They are responsible for photosynthesis and are found in leaf cells and green stems. CHROMOSOMES: Thread-like bodies consisting of a series of different genes arranged in linear fashion. They occur in the nucleus of every plant cell. CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS: Cyclical actions most often associated in fuchsia’s with daylight and darkness. Seasonal swings also perform this cycle. CLEAR STEM: The amount of stem clear of growth. It is measured from the soil level to the first branch or leaf. It is of importance when growing standards or bushes that may be entered into shows. COMPOST: A mixture of ingredients specially prepared for the growing of cuttings, plants, or the sowing of seeds. CORDATE: Heart shaped. COROLLA: The collective term for the petals; the inner part of the flower. CULTIVAR: In cultivation; a cross; not a species. CUTTING: A piece from a plant encouraged to form roots and thus produce a new plant. This is vegetative reproduction and plants produced by this method are true to their parental type. DAMP DOWN: Raising the humidity of the atmosphere in the greenhouse by spraying plants, benches or paths with water. DAMPING OFF: The collapse and possible death of cuttings, or seedlings, usually due to attack at ground level by soil-borne fungi. ‘Cheshunt Compound’ can be used to combat this problem. DOUBLE: A fuchsia which has eight or more petals in the corolla, but excludes petaloids. ELLIPTIC: An oval shape, with pointed or rounded ends. EMASCULATION: The process of removing immature stamens from a host plant to prevent self-pollination, during the cross pollination of two plants. FASCIATION: The growing together, or fusion, of different parts of a plant. This is where leaves and blooms sometimes fuse together. FEEDING: Applying additional plant nutrients to the compost in an effort to enhance growth or remedy deficiencies in the compost. This can also be carried out by a foliar feed, where the leaves and plant are sprayed with the feed. FERTILIZATION: This is the union of male and female cells. This is accomplished by transferring pollen from the Stamens (male) to the Stigma (female) part of the plant. This can be done by wind, insects, birds or when carried out under controlled conditions by a Hybridizer when deliberately crossing two species or cultivars. FIBROUS ROOTS: The white roots produced from the main fleshy roots vital for taking up of water and nutrients, essential for healthy growth. It is these roots, particularly in fuchsia’s, that are attacked by the grub of the Vine weevil resulting in the death of the plant. FILAMENT: The stalk of the Stamen. FINAL STOP: The last removal of the growing tip which a plant receives before being allowed to grow to flowering stage. FIRST STOP: The removal of the growing tip of a rooted cutting to encourage branching into the required shape. GENE: A unit of inheritance; a length of DNA in a chromosome that codes for a particular characteristic. GENUS: The name given to a group of closely related species, for example Fuchsia. HERMAPHRODITE: Flowers which have both male and female parts. HYBRID: A cross between two species, sub-species or varieties. HYPANTHIUM: The outer parts of a flower that form a protective tube and attract pollinators to the Stigma. INFLORESCENCE: Of flowers - usually arranged around a single axis, as in F. paniculata or F. arborescens. INTERNODE: The portion of the stem between two nodes. Rooting from this section is described as ‘internodal’. LANCEOLATE: Lance spear shaped, when associated with leaf shape. MULTIFLOWERING: Carrying more than a single bloom in each leaf axil; for example ‘Kelly’s Dream’. This allows more blooms to be produced after each final stop. This is not applied to triphylla types. MUTATION: A change in the sequence of material in chromosome chains which results in changes to the foliage or flower, commonly known as a ‘sport’. NODE: Part of the stem from which a leaf or bud arises. when taking cuttings, roots form most readily from this point. NUTRIENTS: The food used by the plant from the growing medium, necessary for sustained and healthy growth. OVARY: The part containing the ovules which, after fertilization, swells and encloses the seed. OVATE: Of leaves, looking like a flattened egg and pointed at the narrowest end. OVER-WINTERING: The storage of plants during the resting period, the winter months, so that the tissue of the plants remain alive although dormant. PANICLES: A branched inflorescence consisting of a number of racemes. PERIPHERAL: On the outside or periphery; of flowers carried on the ends of branches. PEDICEL: The flower stalk - attached from the leaf joint to the ovary (seed pod). PETAL: A division of the corolla. PETALOIDS: Normally used to describe the smaller outer petals of the corolla. These are not counted when determining the size of the bloom (ie; single, double etc). PETIOLE: The leaf stalk. PHOTOSYNTHESIS: The process by which the chlorophyll in chloroplasts uses the energy of the sun to generate carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water. PHOTOTROPISM: The plants response to light by moving in relation to the source of the light. Shoots and leaves are positively phototropic. Roots are usually negatively phototropic, or have no response. This is the reason for ‘turning’ your plants on a daily basis to ensure even growth. This can also be used to advantage by producing ‘standards’ more quickly by placing a chosen plant or cutting in a place where the light level is lower - the plant will grow upward in an attempt to reach the light. PILOSE: Hairy. PINCH: To remove the growing tip of the plant, or cutting, to produce bushiness. PISTIL: The female part of the flower,consisting of the ovary (seed pod), style and stigma. POT-BOUND: When the plant container is full of roots to such an extent that the plant will become starved of nutrients. POT ON: To transfer the plant from one size of pot to a larger one so that there will be a continuous supply of nutrients. POTTING UP: Transferring a seedling or rooted cutting from its initial seedbox, tray or propagator into a plant pot. PROPAGATION: Increasing of stock by means of seeds or by rooting cuttings (see article on this site). PRUNING: The shortening of laterals or roots to enhance the shape of the plant or to remove a damaged or dead portion. RAECEME: A flower-cluster with the separate flowers attached by short equal stalks at equal distances along a central stem. RECURVED: Bent backwards, usually of sepals. REFLEXED: Synonymous with recurved. RUBBING OUT: The removal of unwanted side growths, for example on a standard stem, usually in early bud stage. RUST: A fungal diseases which infects a variety of plants, including fuchsias. SCANDENT: Of fuchsias that would normally be unable to raise themselves above the ground when they climb or are supported by other plants. SCLEROTIZED: Hardened. SELF-POLLINATION: The transference of pollen from anther to stigma of the same flower or another flower on the same plant. SEMI-DOUBLE: A fuchsia with five, six or seven petals. SEPALS: The outermost part of the flower; four sepals and the tube form the calyx. SHADING: The exclusion of some of the rays of the sun by the use of blinds, netting or glass colourant. SHAPING: To grow a plant into a definite shape by means of training the laterals or by selective pinching out of the growing tips. SIBLINGS: Offspring of the same female and male parents. SINGLE: A fuchsia with only four petals. SPECIES: The smallest unit of classification. Individuals in a species are assumed to have emanated from a single original genetic source and are sexually compatible with each other. SPORT: A shoot differing in character from the typical growth of the parent plant, often giving rise to a new cultivar, which must be propagated vegetatively. STAMEN: The male part of the flower comprising the filaments and anthers. STIGMA: The part of the pistil to which the pollen grains adhere. STOP: To remove the growing tip of the plant. STRIKING: As in striking a cutting - The insertion of a prepared cutting into a suitable rooting compost. STYLE: The stalk that is attached to the stigma which leads to the ovary (seed pod). SUBERECT: Partially or sometimes erect; usually of flowers. SUB-SPECIES: A partially differentiated group within a species. SYSTEMICS: Insecticides or fungicides taken up by the roots and carried into the sap of the plant, thus causing it to become poisonous to sucking insects or protected from the attack of viruses. Can also be absorbed through the foliage if applied in spray form. TERMINAL: At the extremities or ends of the branches. TERNATE: Arranged in threes; of leaves or blooms at a joint. TRACE ELEMENTS: Nutrients required by a plant to maintain steady and healthy growth (boron,copper, magnesium and zinc). TRIPHYLLA: Like F. triphylla, with terminal corymbs of long tapered flowers. TUBE: The elongated part of the calyx, correctly called the hypanthium. TURGID: The condition of the plant cells after absorption of water to full capacity. TURNING: The term used to describe the turning of a plant on a daily basis in an effort to achieve balanced growth from all directions. VARIETY: Botanically a variant of the species, but formerly used to denote what is now more commonly called a cultivar. VILLOUS: Covered with long weak hair. VIRUS: An agent causing systemic disease. It is too small to be seen other than with a powerful microscope, but is transmitted very easily. WHIP: A term given to a single stem of a plant being grown with a view to producing a standard. WILT: Drooping caused by a lack of moisture within the plant tissue. This condition can also be cause by over-watering, disease or toxins. WHORLS: A set of appendages that are arranged in a circle around a single axis. A ring of leaves or flowers.