Glossary of Terms

Anther	The enlarged pollen bearing structure at the tip of a filament in a flower. The filament and the anther make up the male part of the flower, known as the stamen, which surrounds the complimentary female part of the flower, known as the pistil.
Areole	the structure from which spines originate in cacti, arising from an axillary bud at a node in the stem--i.e., in Mammillarias, at the end of the tubercle. In Opuntia, glocchids also emanate from the areoles.
Axil	the angle between a stem and a leaf; in Mammillaria, the "pit" between adjacent tubercles and the stem.
Bristle	a short, stiff hair. In comparison, a glochid has a retrorse (backward pointing) barb at the end.
Cactus	the whole enchilada. A member of the family cactaceae, the classification level above genus.
Caespitose	multiple stems growing upward from the base; in cacti, multiple heads growing from the same base. Also spelled "cespitose", a corruption of the Latin.
Calyx	the outer, basal "cup" from which the sepals and inner flower parts arise; essentially, a modified leaf.
Campanulate	bell shaped, referring to the whole flower. In comparison, funnelform refers to a linearly tapered flower.
Centrals	spines that grow outward from the areole; may be erect, porrect, or deflexed.
Crinite	hairy, specifically with long, soft hairs.
Deflexed	pointing or arcing downward, usually referring to central spines. Opposite of recurved.
Erect	standing erect, pointing upward, referring to the central spines.
Filament	the stalk-like structure that terminates in the anther, or pollen sac bearing structure in the male part of the flower, or stamen.
Funnelform	funnel shaped, referring to the whole flower. In comparison, campanulate refers to a rounded, bell shaped flower.
Globose	more or less spherical in shape.
Glochid	a fine hair or bristle having a barb at the tip, as those arising from the areoles of the genus Opuntia.
Incurved	arcing inward and upward, in the normal sense, toward the meristem; referring to the central spines.
Meristem	the growing point of the plant, at the tip of the stem (body) of the cactus or a branch of the cactus.
Offset	to grow a branch (another "head") from an existing head of the plant.
Ovary	the enlarged portion of the pistil, at the base of the style, in which ovules from into seeds inside a fertilized fruit.
Pistil	the female part of the flower, consisting of the stigma, style, and ovary. The pistil surrounds the male part of the flower, known as the stamen. Ovules in the pistil later become the seeds of the fruit.
Porrect	beak-like; pointing straight out or away from the plant. See picture of Mammillaria sonorensis var. gentryi for a porrect central
Pubescent	hairy, specifically with fine, short hairs
Radials	spines that grows radially from the areole, lying parallel or nearly parallel to the surface of the cactus. Usually, radials are finer and more flexible than centrals.
Recurved	arcing downward or backward, away from the stem; in cacti usually referring to the central spines.
Sepal	the outermost series of flower parts, forming the calyx, and recapitulating the petals; usually, sepals have darker color than the petals.
Spine	Hard, pointed needles emanating from buds in the areole structure in cacti; in cacti, derived from leaves or parts of leaves.
Spiral	referring to the alignment of tubercles in rows that wind around the stem of the Mammillaria. The number of spiral rows of tubercles normally follow the mathematical Fibonacci Sequence, and is usually constant within a given species of Mammillaria. The number of rows counted clockwise and counterclockwise are Fibonacci pairs, e.g.: 5/8, 8/13, 13/21, etc., depending upon the species.
Stamen	the male part of the flower, comprised of the filament and anther.
Stigma	the pollen receptor structure at the terminus of the style, in the center of the flower. The female part of the flower consists of the stigma, style, and ovary.
Stigma lobes	in cacti, referring to the lobes that form more than one stigma on a single style.
Style	The hollow stalk which holds the stigma above the ovary; part of the female part of the flower.
Subcentral	needles with the form of centrals, but grow nearer to a 45 angle with the plant body.
Terete	having a long, tapered cylindrical shape, circular in cross section; referring to the tubercles.
Tomentose	hairy in a thick fuzzy, or wooly manner.
Tubercle	a projection from the plant body, terminating in the areole;.
Uncinate	hooked, referring to spines.
Wool	long soft, entangled hairs; in cacti, a mass of entangled hairs resembling sheep wool.

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