Useful Terms: 1

From time to time, I will post up a list of useful terms. These aren't really necessary to know, but it always pays to expand your knowledge. Consider these term posts to be something extra on the side to help you become more familiar with the plant world. Kind of like dessert, but with less calories and more words. You'll no longer have to scratch your head and refer to "that one plant" as "that one plant."

1. Tracheid: a type of water-conducting cell in the xylem which lacks perforations in the cell wall.
2. Abscission: the normal separation of flowers, fruit, and leaves from plants.
3. Allelopathy: suppression of growth of a plant by a toxin released from a nearby plant of the same or another species.
4. Vascular: any of various plants, such as the ferns and seed-bearing plants, in which the phloem transports sugar and the xylem transports water and salts.
5. Decurrent: extending down the stem below the place of insertion, as certain leaves.
6. Deciduous: plants, including trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials, that lose all of their leaves for part of the year.

About

Hello, and welcome to the GreenDome. This little corner of the internet is dedicated to - you've guessed it - the green things that keep our lungs filled with oxygen. That's plants for those of you who didn't get it. Not Wi-Fi. Why is it called GreenDome, you may ask? Because plants are green and I like domes, and it's my blog so I could call it Fluffy McSkuttle's Guide to Leafy Shit and that would be okay. You'll soon learn that I'm not condescending, I just have a very unique sense of humor aimed at breaking up what is generally accepted by the masses as a dull topic. My goal is to keep your interest long enough to teach you something and open your eyes to the fact that all that green stuff has many valuable uses - and it would be wise to make sure we still have some of it in 30 years or so.

What can you expect to find here? Well, dear meat sack, I'll tell you. Science. That's right, I said science. I'm not all witty remarks and eyebrow wiggles. I know science. And you can too! Kindly steer your attention to the tags on the right side of the blog. Pick a topic, click, and go! I'll touch on everything from the anatomy of a plant to different biomes, conservation to gardening, fun facts to current news, and even - gasp! - GMOs! (Spoiler alert: science says good, fear-mongering masses say bad. Breaking news: Bill Nye says he's in love with GMOs and his new book will tell you why!)

“I went to Monsanto,” [Bill] Nye said, “and I spent a lot of time with the scientists there, and I have revised my outlook, and I’m very excited about telling the world. When you’re in love, you want to tell the world.” The Washington Post

We'll laugh, we'll cry (mostly me because I actually have to put forth effort), and who knows? Maybe we'll learn a thing or two.

I'm not your Average Joe. You don't have to be either.

Let's learn some shit.

- Your Friendly Neighborhood Plant Scientist