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Scotland's Native Trees and Shrubs
Glossary of terms
Ancient woods | Woods that occupy sites which have been wooded continuously for several hundred years, at least since 1750, when the first national survey was made by General Roy. |
Cell-grown plant | A plant grown in a container in which the internal surface has vertical ridges or grooves designed to guide the roots straight downwards to prevent root-spiralling. |
Clone | A group of plants and or parts of plants produced vegetatively from one original plant. |
Container-grown plant | Plants that have been grown in any type of container (e.g. pot, plastic bag or cell) for sufficient time for the root growth to have substantially filled the container. |
Cutting | A short length of stem, branch or root which is placed in a rooting medium to develop into a rooted plant. |
Ecosystem | A community of species which survive by interaction with each other and their local environment. (NB. If one or more of the components of the established ecosystem is missing or removed the whole system is disrupted and other species may disappear.) |
Genetic origin | Inherited characteristics from parent plants. |
Genotype | The characteristics of an individual or population of plants resultant from their inherent genetic properties. |
Granny pine | Old wide-crowned pine trees that have direct genetic links with the ancient Caledonian pine that established after the last Ice Age. |
Mycorrhizea | A root inhabiting symbiotic fungus that occurs naturally in forest soil. The fungus is able to pass mineral elements and water to tree roots. |
Natural range of species | The geographical area over which a species occurs naturally, without the intervention of man. |
Phenotype | The characteristics of an individual or population of plants resulting from interaction of the subjects' genotype and the environment in which it is growing. |
Seed | Cones, fruits and seed intended for the production of plants. |
Seed orchard | An area planted up and managed for the prime purpose of seed production. |
Semi-natural woodland | Existing woods which are composed predominantly of native tree and shrub species which have not been planted. New 'semi-natural' woodlands are woodlands planted with predominantly native species to recreate the characteristics of genuine existing semi-natural woodlands. |
Shrub | A woody perennial, usually less tall than a tree, with several stems or side branches of a bushy habit. Some species such as holly and beech can be grown as either shrubs or trees. |
Tree | A woody perennial with a distinct stem or stems. |
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