Plant DecodedThe Decoder
Plant science has a lot of words that papers assume you already know. Here they are in plain English, each linked to a field note where you’ll see it in action.
A
Amyloplast
A small compartment inside plant cells that stores starch. In gravity-sensing cells, amyloplasts are heavy enough to sink and act as statoliths.
Read more in Why do roots always grow down?Auxin
The main plant growth hormone. Where it builds up decides which cells stretch and which hold back, which is how plants bend towards light or away from gravity.
Read more in Why do roots always grow down?C
Calcium wave
A rush of calcium ions moving from cell to cell. Plants use calcium waves to carry wound alarms from a damaged leaf to the rest of the plant.
Read more in Can plants feel pain?Cavitation
When a water column under tension inside a plant suddenly snaps and an air bubble forms. It happens more in dry plants and makes tiny ultrasonic clicks.
Read more in Do plants make sounds?Chlorophyll
The green pigment that captures light for photosynthesis. It absorbs red and blue light and reflects green, which is why leaves look green.
Read more in How does photosynthesis work?Chloroplast
The tiny green structure inside leaf cells where photosynthesis happens. Each one is packed with chlorophyll.
Read more in How does photosynthesis work?Chlorosis
Yellowing of leaf tissue because the plant can’t make enough chlorophyll. The pattern of the yellow often points to the cause.
Read more in Why are my plant’s leaves turning yellow?Columella
The cluster of cells in the centre of the root cap. These are the root’s gravity sensors.
Read more in Why do roots always grow down?E
Etiolation
Pale, stretched growth with long gaps between leaves, caused by too little light. Gardeners usually call it leggy growth.
Read more in Why is my plant leggy?G
Glutamate receptor-like proteins (GLRs)
Channel proteins in plant cell membranes that respond to glutamate. They help launch the calcium wave that spreads a wound alarm through a plant.
Read more in Can plants feel pain?Gravitropism
A plant’s growth response to gravity. Roots grow towards it and shoots grow away from it.
Read more in Why do roots always grow down?H
Hydrotropism
Root growth towards water. It works alongside gravitropism to steer roots through the soil.
Read more in Why do roots always grow down?Hypoxia
Too little oxygen. In waterlogged soil, roots become hypoxic, stop working properly and start to rot.
Read more in What does overwatering actually do to a plant?M
Mycorrhiza
A partnership between a fungus and a plant’s roots. The fungus brings water and nutrients, and the plant pays it in sugar.
Read more in Do trees really talk through the wood wide web?N
Nociceptor
A sensory nerve cell in animals that detects harm and helps create the feeling of pain. Plants don’t have them.
Read more in Can plants feel pain?P
Phloem
The plant’s food-delivery tissue. It carries sugars from the leaves to wherever they’re needed, and it carries signals too.
Read more in Can plants feel pain?Photosynthesis
How plants use light energy to turn carbon dioxide and water into sugar, releasing oxygen as a by-product.
Read more in How does photosynthesis work?Phototropism
A plant bending towards light. It happens because auxin builds up on the shaded side of the stem, making that side grow faster.
Read more in Why is my plant leggy?Phytochrome
A light sensor in plants that reads the ratio of red to far-red light. It tells a plant whether it’s in the open or in shade.
Read more in Why is my plant leggy?R
Root rot
Decay of roots, usually after they’ve been weakened by waterlogged soil. Water moulds like Pythium and Phytophthora are common culprits.
Read more in What does overwatering actually do to a plant?Rubisco
The enzyme that captures carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. It’s slow, sometimes grabs oxygen by mistake, and is often called the most abundant protein on Earth.
Read more in How does photosynthesis work?S
Senescence
The planned ageing and shutdown of a leaf. The plant takes back useful nutrients before the leaf falls, which is why old leaves turn yellow.
Read more in Why are my plant’s leaves turning yellow?Shade avoidance
The set of responses a plant uses to escape shade, like stretching stems and lifting leaves. It’s the reason indoor plants get leggy.
Read more in Why is my plant leggy?Statolith
A dense grain inside a cell that sinks under gravity, so the cell can tell which way is down. In plants, statoliths are starch-filled amyloplasts.
Read more in Why do roots always grow down?Stomata
Tiny adjustable pores on leaves. They let carbon dioxide in for photosynthesis and let water vapour and oxygen out.
Read more in How does photosynthesis work?T
Transpiration
Water evaporating from leaves through the stomata. It pulls more water up from the roots, a bit like sucking through a straw.
Read more in Do plants make sounds?V
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Carbon-based chemicals that evaporate easily into the air. Plants release some as signals, and household products release others as pollutants.
Read more in Do houseplants clean the air?X
Xylem
The plant’s water pipes. Long, hollow cells carry water and minerals up from the roots to the leaves.
Read more in Do plants make sounds?Get the next field note first
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