C
CALYX the outer series of leaf-like segments of the flower which is usually green in colour, it may be large and colourful, present or absent. It encloses the flower while it is still a bud.
CAMPANULATE bell-shaped.
CANALICULATE channeled.
CANDELABRIFORM with a shape of a tall branched candle-stick.
CAPITATE pplied to an inflorescence in which the flowers form a head.
CAPITULUM a small head (of flowers).
CAPSULE a dry, dehiscent fruit.
CARPEL a simple pistil consisting of ovary, style and stigma, or element of a compound pistil.
CARTILAGINOUS sinewy, tough (in respect of leaf margins).
CAUDEX the stem of a plant.
CELL in the mesems, a chamber of the ovary.
CILIA hairs along the margin of a leaf or corolla lobe (as in many Orbea species)
CILIATE fringed with hairs, as on the margin of the corolla lobes in some of the stapelieae.
CLADISTIC system of classification based on the phylogenetic and evolutionary history of groups of organisms.
CLAVATE club-shaped, thickened towards the top.
CLEISTOGAMOUS applied to a flower in which fertilization occurs without the flower opening.
CONIC-CAPITATE a cone-shaped head of flowers.
CONNIVENT converging.
CORDATE heart-shaped.
CORIACEOUS leathery.
CORONA in the stapelieae, a crown-like portion of the staminal column, usually with the inner and outer lobes.
CRENATE notched or scalloped.
CRISPED with a curled or twisted edge.
CUNEATE wedge-shaped.
CYATHIUM the inflorescence of euphorbia (plural: cyathia).
CYLINDRIC-ACUMINATE elongated and tapering to a point.
CYME an inflorescence in which the lateral axis grows more strongly than the main axis.
D
DECUMBENT laying or growing on the ground but the tips are erect or growing upright.
DECIDUOUS falling off or shed at a specific season or stage of growth.
DISCUS an enlarged area bearing numerous tiny flowers, ie the flower head of a composite plant like a daisy.
DISK an enlarged area bearing numerous tiny flowers, ie the flower head of a composite plant like a daisy.
DISTICHOUS two rows of upright leaves, common in Gasteria seedlings.