Wild plants of the Castlemaine District
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Alternate leaves. Each leaf at a different level from the previous level. Not in pairs.
Anther. The pollen-bearing part of a flower. The anther stalks are called filaments.

Bipinnate leaf. A leaf divided into two sets of leaflets.
Bisexual flowers. Flowers with both male parts (stamens and anthers) and female parts (pistil and ovaries).
Bract. A leaf or scale just below the flower, and differing in size, shape or colour from the foliage leaves. Everlasting daisies have bracts that are coloured and resemble petals.

Cosmpolitan. Native to a wide area, including Australia and overseas countries.
Culm. The straw-like stem of a grass or rush.

Disc floret. The inner tube-like florets of a daisy flower.

Environmental weed. A weed that can invade bushland or other native plant associations.

Female flower (or the pistil). It consists of the ovary (which later becomes the fruit) and the stigma (which receives the pollen) at the top. The stigma and ovary are connected by a stalk (the style). A female flower does not have stamens and anthers (the male part).
Floret. A small flower making up a cluster e.g. in daisy flowers and grass flowers.

Head. A cluster of stalkless flowers.
Herb. A soft green, non-woody plant. A herb may or may not have medicinal or culinary values.

Lanceolate, lance-shaped leaf. Relatively broad and tapering to the end of the leaf e.g. most gum tree leaves.
Leaflets. Divisions of a leaf that are divided to the midrib.

Male flower. Flower with stamens and anthers, but without female parts (i.e. without ovaries or stigmas).

Opposite leaves. Leaves which are paired, and on opposite sides of the stem.

Panicle. A much-branched cluster e.g a bunch of grapes.
Perennial. A plant living for more than 2 years. A biennial lives for 2 years, and an annual for a year or less.
Petal. The inner whorl of a flower. Petals are often brightly coloured and may be separate, or fused into a tube.
Pinna (plural pinnae). A leaflet of a compound leaf.

Sepals. The outer whorl of a flower, immediately below the petals. The sepals may be coloured and petal-like, or green and leaf-like.
Stamen. The male part of the flower, made up of the filamemt and the anther.
Spike. A rod of stalkless flowers. It need not be sharp-pointed.

Trifoliate. A leaf made up of three leaflets e.g. clover.
Truncate. Cut off square.

VROTS. Victorian Rare Or Threatened Species. see VROTS
Whorl. Usually referring to leaves or flowers. Encircling the stem like spokes of a wheel.