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root
root in mathematics, number or quantity r for which an equation f ( r )=0 holds true, where f is some function . If f is a polynomial , r is called a root of f; for example, r =3 and r =-4 are roots of the equation x2 + x -12=0, because (3) 2 +(3)-12=0 and (-4) 2 +(-4)-12=0. In the ...
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vegetative propagation
vegetative propagation the ability of plants to reproduce without sexual reproduction, by producing new plants from existing vegetative structures. Some plants, such as the Canada thistle and most bamboos, send out long underground stems that produce new plants, often at considerable distances from...
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mangrove
mangrove large tropical evergreen tree, genus Rhizophora, that grows on muddy tidal flats and along protected ocean shorelines. Mangroves are most abundant in tropical Asia, Africa, and the islands of the SW Pacific. The American, or red, mangrove ( Rhizophora mangle ) is found along the muddy sh...
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root
root in botany, the descending axis of a plant, as contrasted with the stem, the ascending axis. In most plants the root is underground, but in epiphytes the roots grow in the air and in hydrophytes (e.g., cattails and water lilies) they grow in water or marshes. Roots function to absorb water an...
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radical
radical in mathematics, symbol placed over a number or expression, called the radicand, to indicate a root of the radicand. When used without a sign or index number, it designates the positive square root of the radicand, i.e., 2. If both square roots are meant, the radical sign is preceded by &p...
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grafting
grafting horticultural practice of uniting parts of two plants so that they grow as one. The scion, or cion, the part grafted onto the stock or rooted part, may be a single bud, as in budding , or a cutting that has several buds. The stock may be a whole mature plant, such as an apple tree, or i...
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biennial
biennial plant requiring two years to complete its life cycle, as distinguished from an annual or a perennial. In the first year a biennial usually produces a rosette of leaves (e.g., the cabbage) and a fleshy root, which acts as a food reserve over the winter. During the second year the plant prod...
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sarsaparilla
sarsaparilla , common name for various plants belonging to two different classes and also for an extract from their roots, formerly much used in medicine and in beverages. True sarsaparilla is obtained from various tropical American species of the genus Smilax (which also includes the greenbrier) ...
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propagation of plants
propagation of plants is effected in nature chiefly sexually by the seed and the spore , less often by rhizomes and other methods (see reproduction ). Vegetative means include cutting , layering , grafting , tissue culture, and division of the roots (see perennial ) and of the tubers (see ...
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rhizome
rhizome or rootstock, fleshy, creeping underground stem by means of which certain plants propagate themselves. Buds that form at the joints produce new shoots. Thus if a rhizome is cut by a cultivating tool it does not die, as would a root, but becomes several plants instead of one, which expla...
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