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The Orchid Care Glossary from R to S

September 3, 2010

In case you’re wondering where Q went, there were no entries for it in the American Orchid Society’s glossary, so we skipped it! Though we did find this very extensive orchid glossary with a few Q’s – quadrangular, quadrate and quadrilateral. But here are orchid terms for the letters “R” and  “S” from the AOS glossary, with some additional links for more in-depth explanations. 


Raceme
- An unbranched inflorescence of stalked flowers.

  • The Wikipedia entry has diagrams and photos!

Rhizome- A root-bearing stem of sympodial orchids that progressively sends up leafy shoots.

  • Sympodial means "with conjoined feet", and photo examples may help explain the difference between a monopodial orchid like the Phalaenopsis orchid and sympodial orchids.
Scape- An unbranched inflorescence with one flower. Or, as Answers.com puts it:Scape, flower stalk; erect leafless flower stalk growing directly from the ground as in a tulip.

Sheath- A modified leaf that encloses an emerging inflorescence or leaf.

Somaclonal Variation- Genetic variants arising from tissue culture.

Species- A kind of plant that is distinct from other plants.

Spike- An unbranched inflorescence of unstalked flowers.

  • The Wikipedia entry for Raceme, above, has a diagram and photo example.
Stem Propagation- See micropropagation
  • Micropropagation- The use of tissue culture to grow inactive axillary buds into whole plants with very little somaclonal variation, unlike adventitious propagation.
Stolon- A branch that grows horizontally above the medium and produces roots and shoots at the nodes. Stomata- The breathing pores on the surface of a plant's leaves.

Sympodial- Orchids which grow laterally and produce leafy growths along a rhizome.

  • See the explanation and  link under rhizome, above.    
Come back to read the exciting alphabetical conclusion of our journey through orchid terminology!