Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Peat
The preserved and compressed remains of dead bog plants, usually either sphagnum moss or sedges. The natural acidity of some bogs prevents the dead plant material from decaying, so that it accumulates and over time forms thick deposits. Peat is extracted from these deposits and used for many purposes, including horticultural uses. It is termed…
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Orchid
Any member of the family Orchidaceae, the second largest plant family after the composites, consisting of around 18,500 species occurring in nearly all parts of the world but most abundant in tropical rainforests, where they mostly grow as epiphytes. Orchids have flowers of complex structure, with bilateral symmetry and elaborate pollination mechanisms. Their seeds are…
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Monsoonal
A term applied to regions of the tropics and subtropics that experience a long dry season followed by a wet season with frequent heavy rain and thunderstorms, derived ultimately from an Arabic word ‘mausim’, for the rainy season. Plants adapted to monsoonal climates sometimes grow poorly in different climates.
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Mildew
Certain kinds of fungi that form fine webs on the surfaces of organic materials, or on the leaves of live plants. Mildews thrive in warm, humid conditions and mainly affect plants that are not adapted to such conditions. Downy mildews are virulent plant diseases, the most notorious being downy mildew of grape. Lay term for…
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Mericlones
Plants of the one clone raised by growing tiny pieces of tissue dissected from a plant’s shoot tip (a meristem) in a sterile nutrient medium using laboratory techniques. Manipulation of growth with plant hormones is needed to make the tissue differentiate into stem, leaves and roots. Mericloning is mainly used for orchid hybrids and can…
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Mediterranean
Countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, or at least those parts of them that are climatically influenced by the Mediterranean—for example, the southeastern thirds respectively of France and Spain, most of Italy, all the southern Balkans and much of Turkey. Only a narrow fringe of the coast and mountains of North Africa is truly Mediterranean. The…
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Mealybug
Small sap-sucking insects of the family Coccidae, to which scale insects also belong. Mealybugs are tiny but easily seen, flattened and slow-moving, with a whitish water-repellent coating like flour dusted over cobwebby hairs. They hide on the undersides of leaves, among sheathing leaf bases, and among plant roots, thriving best on plants grown indoors in…
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Leader
The main central growing shoot of a sapling, which eventually thickens to form the trunk of the adult tree. A double leader results when the leader forks at a narrow angle, regarded as undesirable because it weakens the tree.
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Kernel
The edible inner part of a nut, which is usually the seed, as in almonds.
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Indoor
Within any enclosed structure, such as a house, conservatory or green¬ house, that a person can enter (thus excluding frames and cloches). Indoor cultivation both avoids winter frosts and raises temperatures in the growing season.
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