Category: E
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Elliptic
Broadest at the middle with two equal rounded ends; Linnaeus, de Candolle and Lindley, used this term as being synonymous with oval; The mathematical definition is “a plane figure with the sum of its distances to two fixed points being constant”; The Taxon article on plane shapes (Systematics Association Committee for Descriptive Biological Terminology, 1962)…
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Ellipsoid
A 3-dimensional shape that is elliptic in the vertical plane. Elliptical in long section and circular in cross section (applied only to three-dimensional bodies). Elliptic in outline and with a length:breadth ratio between 3:2 and 2:1. Rounded on ends and with curved sides; having the outline of an ellipse. Of a three-dimensional oval shape. The…
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Eligulate
Without a ligule.
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Elater
A cell or cell structure that reacts to changes in humidity with a change in shape, and thereby assists in the dispersal of spores; elaters can be either on the spore (e.g. in Equisetum) or in the sporangium. The erectile appendages of the spores of Equisetum. In botany, elongated cells with spirally thickened walls, associated…
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Elaminate
Without a blade [unusual term].
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Elaiosome
Oily appendage on seeds, often (?always) serving as a food-body for ants or other insects which then disperse the seed.
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Eglandular
Without glands.
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Efoliate
Without leaves.
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Effuse
Loosely spreading (used of inflorescences in Caryophyllaceae). Thin, widely spreading; applied to a bacterial growth that forms a very delicate film over a surface.
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Efflorescence
The season of flowering.