I
- illegitimate name (nomen illeg.)
- a name not abiding by the rules of the botanical Codes, e.g. later homonyms, cultivars that have been Latinised after 1 Jan 1959; cultivar names with more than 10 syllables or 30 letters; cultivar names that use confusing names of other plants, e.g. Camellia 'Rose'.
- imbricate
- overlapping each other; of perianth parts, edges overlapping in the bud (the convoluted arrangement is a special form of imbrication).
- imparipinnate
- a pinnate leaf with an odd number of pinnae (terminated by a single leaflet); compare paripinnate.
- in
- in nomenclature, where the preceding author published the name in an article or book, authored or edited by the succeeding author.
- inbreeding
- the production of offspring between closely related parents leading to a high degree of similarity; self-fertilization is the most intense form of inbreeding.
- incised
- cut deeply and (usually) unevenly (a condition intermediate between toothed and lobed).
- included
- enclosed, not protruding; for example stamens within the corolla.
- incurved
- bent or curved inwards; of leaf margins, when curved towards the adaxial side.
- ined.
- abbreviation of Latin inedita, an unpublished work. Used to indicate that a botanical name appeared only in a manuscript that was not published, so the name is invalid.
- indefinite
- variable in number; numerous; e.g. more than twice as many stamens as petals or sepals, or when an inflorescence is not terminated by a flower (and continues growing); cf. definite.
- indehiscent
- not opening in any definite manner at maturity; usually referring to fruit.
- indeterminate
- unlimited, usually in growth.
- indigenous
- native to the area, not introduced, and not necessarily confined to the region discussed or present throughout it (hardly distinct from ‘native’ but usually applied to a smaller area). For example, the Cootamundra Wattle is native to Australia but indigenous to the Cootamundra region of southern New South Wales; cf. endemic.
- indumentum
- any surface covering, e.g. hairs, scales; a collective term for such coverings.
- indusium
- 1. a membrane covering the sporangia of some ferns.
- 2. a cup enclosing the stigma in Goodeniaceae.
- inferior
- of an ovary, at least partly below the level of attachment of other floral parts; compare superior.
- inflated
- swollen, like a bladder.
- inflexed
- bent sharply upwards or forwards; compare deflexed.
- inflorescence
- several flowers closely grouped together to form an efficient structured unit; the grouping or arrangement of flowers on a plant.
- infraspecific
- denotes taxonomic ranks below species level, for example subspecies.
- infructescence
- the grouping or arrangement of fruits on a plant.
- infundibular (infundibularform)
- funnel-shaped, for example in the corolla of a flower..
- inrolled
- rolled inwards.
- insectivorous
- catching, and drawing nutriment from, insects.
- integument
- in general, any covering, but especially the covering of an ovule.
- interjugary glands
- in pinnate leaves, glands occurring along the leaf rachis between the pinnae (occurring below the single, and often slightly larger, gland at or just below the insertion of the pinnae); cf. jugary.
- internode
- the portion of a stem between two nodes.
- interpetiolar
- of stipules, between the petioles of opposite leaves.
- intramarginal
- inside but close to the margin, for example a vein in a leaf.
- intrastaminal
- inside the stamens or androecium, usually referring to the location of a nectary disk.
- introrse
- of anther locules, with opening towards the centre of flower (at least in bud); cf. extrorse, latrorse.
- invalid
- use of names not validly published according to the Code; i.e. they are not strictly 'names' in the sense of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.
- involucre
- a group of bracts surrounding the base of a flowerhead; e.g. as seen in a daisy.
- involute
- rolled inwards, for example when the margins of a leaf are rolled towards the adaxial (usually upper) surface; compare revolute.
- irregular
- cannot be divided into two equal halves through any vertical plane; compare zygomorphic, actinomorphic, regular.
- isobifacial
- (of flat structures, especially leaves) with both surfaces similar, usually referring to cell types or to the number and distribution of stomata.
Read more about this topic: Glossary Of Botanical Terms