BACK BULB

Dormant pseudobulb that has lost all of its leaves. The back bulb can be made to sprout a new growth by separating it from the surrounding backbulbs by breaking (or cutting) the rhizome.  See also "Brown Bulb" and "Green Bulb".

SHORT DAYS

Botanical term which applies when the number of daylight hours are less than the number of hours of darkness within a 24 hour period. refer also "long-days"

PRIMORDIUM

Immature part of a plant destined to develop into a certain tissue or organ.

PSEUDOBULB

Swollen, bulb-like stem, often in cymbidiums known as a “bulb”.  In cymbidiums they grow above ground which generally give the plants an untidy appearance at ground level.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

The process by which plants use sun-light to convert carbon dioxide from the air into carbohydrates.

LONG DAYS

Used to describe those days where the number of daylight hours is greater than the number of hours of darkness within a 24 hour period. Some plants use this as a signal to determine the change of seasons and thereby to determine their time of flowering. (Long-day plants)

MINIATURE VARIETY

Cymbidium varieties bred from “standard varieties” crossed with the small flowered oriental species with a resultant small flower (diameter ## to ## mm) normally referred to as "minis". Miniature refers to the size of the flower not the length of the flower head. Some miniature varieties have very long flower heads.

SPIKE

Horticultural term for the inflorescence of a cymbidium orchid, which includes its stem bearing usually many individual flowers.

DE-VERNALISATION

The reversal of vernalization caused by unseaonally high temperatures.

CARBOHYDRATES

Complex molecules composed primarily of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Two common forms found in plants are sugars and starches.

AXIL
Upper angle formed by a leaf with a stem.