North American Orchid Conservation Center

Glossary: L

labellum labellum
The modified petal of an orchid, also called a lip.
lacerate lacerate
With a jagged margin that appears torn.
laciniate laciniate
Cut into narrow lobes or long teeth.
lacuna lacuna
A space or gap within a tissue.
laminar laminar
Thin, with broad faces (as with a leaf).
lanceolate lanceolate
Widest below the middle and tapering at both ends, narrower than ovate but wider than linear; lance-shaped.
lanceoloid lanceoloid
The 3-dimensional equivalent of lanceolate: widest below the middle and tapering at both ends, lance-shaped.
Lasioglossum anomalum Lasioglossum anomalum
Sweat Bee, photo courtesy Packer Laboratory, York University with assistance of Robert and Cecily Bradshaw and Canadensys.
Lasioglossum cinctipes Lasioglossum cinctipes
Sweat Bee, photo courtesy Packer Laboratory, York University with assistance of Robert and Cecily Bradshaw and Canadensys.
Lasioglossum coeruleum Lasioglossum coeruleum
Blue Sweat Bee, photo ©Brooke Alexander, USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Laboratory.
Lasioglossum cressonii Lasioglossum cressonii
Sweat Bee, photo courtesy Packer Laboratory, York University with assistance of Robert and Cecily Bradshaw and Canadensys.
Lasioglossum hitchensi Lasioglossum hitchensi
Sweat Bee, photo ©Brooke Alexander, USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Laboratory.
Lasioglossum imitatum Lasioglossum imitatum
Sweat Bee, photo courtesy Packer Laboratory, York University with assistance of Robert and Cecily Bradshaw and Canadensys.
Lasioglossum macoupinense Lasioglossum macoupinense
Sweat Bee, photo courtesy Packer Laboratory, York University with assistance of Robert and Cecily Bradshaw and Canadensys.
Lasioglossum nevadense Lasioglossum nevadense
Base-banded Furrow Bee, photo USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Laboratory.
Lasioglossum oblongum Lasioglossum oblongum
Sweat Bee, photo courtesy Packer Laboratory, York University with assistance of Robert and Cecily Bradshaw and Canadensys.
Lasioglossum obscurum Lasioglossum obscurum
Sweat Bee, photo courtesy Packer Laboratory, York University with assistance of Robert and Cecily Bradshaw and Canadensys.
Lasioglossum pilosum Lasioglossum pilosum
Sweat Bee, photo courtesy Packer Laboratory, York University with assistance of Robert and Cecily Bradshaw and Canadensys.
Lasioglossum quebecense Lasioglossum quebecense
Sweat Bee, photo ©Brooke Alexander, USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Laboratory.
Lasioglossum versans Lasioglossum versans
Sweat Bee, photo courtesy Packer Laboratory, York University with assistance of Robert and Cecily Bradshaw and Canadensys.
Lasioglossum versatum Lasioglossum versatum
Sweat Bee, photo courtesy Packer Laboratory, York University with assistance of Robert and Cecily Bradshaw and Canadensys.
Lasioglossum zonulum
Bull-headed Furrow Bee, photo USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Laboratory.
lateral lateral
On or to the side.
lateral vein lateral vein
A vessel that branches off the main midvein of a leaf.
latex
A clear or colored (often milky) liquid produced by plants.
latitudinal latitudinal
Perpendicular to the main axis.
lax lax
Loose, open; drooping.
leaf leaf
A flattened, lateral appendage of the axis of a plant that conducts photosynthesis.
leaflet leaflet
One of the expanded, first-order-division portions of a compound leaf.
leafule leafule
The ultimate segment of a twice-compound leaf (the division of a leaflet).
legume legume
The fruit pod characteristic to species of the Fabaceae (the species are also referred to as "legumes").
lemma lemma
In grasses (Poaceae), the outer of the two bracts enclosing a floret.
lenticel lenticel
A small, corky dot or streak on the bark or roots of woody plants, normally arising around pores.
lenticular lenticular
Lens-shaped; in cross-section with two convex surfaces.
leptosporangiate leptosporangiate
With a sporangium one cell layer thick, and an annulus and stalk (compare eusporangiate).
Lerema accius Lerema accius
Clouded Skipper, photo ©Chris Evans, www.foottraxphotography.com.
liana liana
A woody, climbing or trailing plant that does not support its own weight.
ligule ligule
A projection or collar on the leaf sheath of grasses (Poaceae), or a small triangle of tissue on the fertile leaves of quillworts (Isoetes species) or Selaginella.
limb limb
The expanded portion of a tubular corolla, in front of the throat.
linear linear
Very narrow, with more or less parallel sides, narrower than lanceolate.
Lintneria eremitus Lintneria eremitus
Hermit Sphinx, photo ©Ron Panzer.
lip lip
A projecting portion of a tubular corolla or calyx.
lithophyte lithophyte
A plant that grows on rocks.
lobe lobe
A projection from an edge, larger than a tooth.
locule locule
Chamber containing seeds in an ovary.
loment loment
A schizocarp of some plants in the Fabaceae composed of one-seeded parts that separate from each other.
lycophyte
The group broadly containing the Lycopodiaceae, Selaginellaceae, and Isoetaceae.
Lymire edwardsii Lymire edwardsii
Edwards' Wasp Moth, photo ©Carol Wolf, North American Moth Photographers Group.