endophytic

…an organism that lives inside a plant, usually referring to a microbe of some sort.

endosymbionts

…a microbe, usually a fungus or bacterium, that lives inside a plant and has a symbiotic relationship with it.

ephemeral

… having a short life cycle timed to take advantage of a short period when conditions are best.

epicormic

… arising from a bud under the bark; branches that appear to arise out of the trunks of trees rather than at clear branch point. They arise from buds just under the bark.

eukaryote

… an organism in which the genetic material is DNA on chromosomes contained within a distinct nucleus. All living organisms other than the eubacteria and archaebacteria are eukaryotes.

fascicle

… a group of leaves, particularly pine needles, crowded or bundled together at their bases.

fitness

… in ecology and evolution, fitness is a measure of how well a species is able to reproduce in its environment, i.e how many successful offspring it leaves. Any individual that leaves no offspring has zero fitness.

florets

… “little flowers”, used to describe the individual small flowers that comprise the flowering head in the Asteraceae/Compositae or the spikelets in grasses

forb

…a herbaceous flowering plant that is not a grass (or sedge or rush). Usually used in connexion with grassland or understory ecology.

frond

… the fern “equivalent” of leaves