Alternate- Leaves that are arranged singly up the stem; not opposite each other.

Annual- A plant that completes its life cycle in one year and reproduces only by seed.

Auricle- Lobelike structures at the color region of a grass leaf blade.

Awn- Slender bristle at the tip of grass seed structures.

Axil- The angle formed between a leaf and a stem.

Basal- At the base of a plant or plant part.

Biennial- A plant that completes its life cycle in two years. Usually forms a rosette of basal leaves the fist year then sends up fruiting structure the second year. IT reproduces only be seed.

Bract- Leaflike structure at the base of a flower or leaf.

Calyx- All the flower leaves together, normally green in color.

Clasping leaves- Leaves whose bases appear to wrap around the stem.

Crown- The structure formed where leaves, stems, and roots grow together.

Dissected- Deeply and repeatedly divided into smaller parts.

Entire- Not toothed or otherwise cut.

Head- A group of flowers borne together in a common receptacle.

Ligule- The structure at the collar of a grass leaf between the sheath and the stem.

Linear- Long and slender.

Lobed- A cut into a leaf from the edge toward the center; deeper cut than "toothed."

Margin- The edge of a leaf.

Membranous- Thin and flexible, usually not green.

Midrib- The center and most often the dominant vein on a leaf.

Nodding- A flower that is bent downward or sidewise on the stem.

Opposite- Leaves situated directly across the stem from each other.

Panicle- A many-branched inflorescence.

Pappus- Bristles, scales, awns, or feathery appendage on the seed of members of the sunflower family.

Perennial- A plant that lives for more than two years as a result of some form of vegetative reproductive structure. Spread and reproduction is both sexual (seed) and asexual (vegetative).

Petiole- A leaf stalk.

Pubescence- The hairs on a leaf, stem, or flower. The degree of pubescence is an important characteristic.

Rhizome- A creeping, underground stem.

Rosette- A circular, basal cluster of leaves on biennial plants.

Sheath- The extension of the leaf that surrounds the stem.

Serrate- Saw-toothed.

Spur- A hollow appendage on a flower.

Stolon- A creeping stem on the surface of the soil.

Succulent-Fleshy and juicy.

Taproot- A thick, central root having little or no branching.

Vegetative- Asexual reproductive structures such as rhizomes, crowns, and stolons that are found in perennial plants.

Whorled- Three or more similar structures arranged at a common junction.