Category: S

A general term for a dry, inedible fruit that contains seeds, or an inflorescence with developing seeds, as in grasses.  

Any member of the large plant family Cyperaceae, though sometimes used in a narrower sense for plants of its largest genus Carex.  

In grafting, the piece of plant stem of the desired variety that is grafted onto the rooted stock (or rootstock) and subsequently grows, comprising all the branches, flowers and fruit of the grafted plant.  

Small sap-sucking insects of the family Coccidae (coccids), which in their adult phase are stationary on leaf and stem surfaces, coating themselves with an adhesive waxy shell which repels water and makes them difficult to eradicate. They can cause considerable damage to longer-lived plants such as trees and shrubs and are unsightly as well.  

The coarsest of the mineral components of soils, easily detected as grit by rubbing a pinch of soil between the fingers. Most sand is almost pure silica (quartz), one of the hardest and most insoluble minerals and containing no plant nutrients. Washed sand has many horticultural uses. Fine grains of disintegrated rock.  

A sound produced during systole which indicates an unusual condition of a heart valve. A systolic heart murmur is a sound produced by the heart, identifiable by a healthcare provider, that occurs during the contraction phase of the heartbeat known as systole. A systolic murmur typically results from the reverse flow of blood through the…

One of several collagen diseases which are forms of lupus, where red patches form on the skin and spread throughout the body. A chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease with characteristic facial “butterfly rash,” involving hematologic, cardiac, pulmonary, and renal systems. An autoimmune disorder that can cause arthritis and also affects several tissues and internal organs. Systemic…