Dictionary

agitate	v. To disturb.
alternate	n. Structures arranged in two rows but not opposite. These structures may include a spiral arrangement.
angle	n. The space in between two surfaces or lines that meet each other. Angles are measured in degrees.
arrangement	n. Refers to how leaves are ordered with respect to one another along a branch.
azimuth	n. The angle or number of degrees between one fixed point and another measured clockwise from the north. The markings on a compass are referred to as azimuths rather than degrees, e.g., azimuth 50 instead of 50 degrees.
bark	n. The protective outer layer of the roots, trunk and branches of a tree or woody plants. Bark may be thick and rough or thin, smooth and papery.
bearing	n. The direction (angle) you need to travel.
blade	n. The wide, flat part of a leaf.
bud	n. A small swelling on a plant or tree that will develop into a flower, leaf or branch.
bundle	n. A group of pine needles growing from the same base.
cambium layer	n. The thin living layer inside the bark, producing xylem and phloem cells.
cardinal direction	n. There are four cardinal directions: North, South, East and West.
chlorophyll	n. A light absorbing pigment which makes leaves appear green.
climate	n. The usual weather conditions at a locality. The major components of climate are temperature, water, light and wind.
compass rose	n. A symbol found on some maps showing the four cardinal directions.
cone	n. The seed-bearing reproductive structure of conifers and other plant groups.
conifer	(1) n. Cone-bearing tree, such as pine, spruce and fir, with needles that usually persist all year; adj. Coniferous describes a tree that produces cones. A coniferous forest is made up of conifers.
crustacean	n. A member of the class Crustacea in the phylum Arthropada. Includes shirps, lobsters, crabs and water fleas. Most forms are aquatic, although a few are terrestrial, living in damp places.
deciduous	adj. Describes trees, such as oaks and maples, that lose their leaves in the winter.
degree	n. A unit for measuring angles. There are 360 degrees in a circle.
dendrology	n. The study of woody pants including trees, shrubs and vines.
distance	n. The space between two points.
diversity	n. Variety in species of plants, animals, insects, etc.
downstream	adj. In the direction of the stream's current. Down a stream.
evergreen	adj. Descibes coniferous trees which always have green leaves (or needles) even in the winter.
geographic north	n. The direction towards the true north pole of the earth.
hardwood	n. A general name given to wood of a deciduous tree
heartwood	n. Dark colored inner wood (not live tissue).
insect	n. Any small, air-breathing arthropod of the class Insecta, which contains organisms that in the adult form normally have six legs, three distinct body regions (head, thorax, abdomen), one pair of antennae and one or two pairs of wings.
intermediate direction	n. There are four intermediate directions: Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest.
invertebrate	n. An animal that does not possess a backbone.
junction	n. The point at which two roads meet.
kilometer (km)	n. A unit of length or distance in the metric system, equal to 1000 meters. 1 kilometer is equal to 0.6214 miles.
larva	n. (pl. larvae) The beginning part of the life cycle of insects and other animals without backbones. The larva hatches out of the egg, has a soft, wormlike body and cannot reproduce.
leaf	n. The thin, usually flat, green parts that grow on a tree or other plant. Leaves are essential organs of most plants and use the carbon dioxide of the air in which they live and light from the sun to carry on an important process called photosyntesis.
limnolgy	n. The study of fresh-water bodies, such as ponds, lakes and streams, and their inhabitants.
magnetic north	n. The direction towards the Earth's magnetic north pole. Because a compass is attracted to magnetic force, the compass needle actually points to the magnetic north pole rather than the geographic north pole.
margin	n. The characteristics of the outer edge of a leaf.
mature	adj. Fully grown or developed. A mature tree can reproduce.
measurement	n. Any unit used to stand for the size, quantity or volume of something.
mile (mi)	n. A unit of length or distance. There are 1760 yards, or 1609.34 meters, in one mile.
mollusk	n. A member of the phylum Mollusca, including smails, bivalves, squids and octopuses. Some are terrestrial but the majority are aquatic.
needle	n. The thin, pointed leaf of an evergreen tree.
opposite	n. Refers to leaves located at the same height on a plant but at opposite sides of the stem.
orient	(1) v. The response of an organism in taking up a particular position in relation to a particular stimulus. (2) n. To turn a map so that the north direction on the map is parallel to the north direction on the ground (compass).
orienteering	n. The skill or process of finding your way by using only maps and compasses as guides.
pace	(1) n. Any of the various units of distance based on the length of a human step. (2) n. A way to estimate the distance between two points each time your right (or left) foot touches the ground.
palmate	n. Refers to leaves with lobes radiating from a common central point.
petiole	n. The stalk-like part of the leaf, attaching it to the stem.
pH	n. A symbol for describing the concentration of hydrogen (H+) and hydroxyl (OH-) ions. The pH scale runs from 1 to 14 where i is the most acidic (majority of H+ ions and minority of OH- ions), 7 is neutral (equal number of H+ and OH- ions) and 14 is the most basic (minority of H+ and majority of OH- ions).
phleom	n. The layer of cells under the bark and outside of the cambium layer, responsible for transporting food created by the leaves.
photosynthesis	The process plants use to produce carbohydrates (food) from carbon dioxide (gas), water and light in the presence of chlorophyll.
pinnate	n. Compound leaves made up of leaflets arranged in two rows on opposite sides of the axis.
pith	n. The center of a tree trunk.
quadrant	n. One fourth of a circle. There are 360 degrees in a circle so one quadrant is the distance from 0 to 90 degrees.
riffle	n. A small disturbance in the water flow of a calm stream caused by water hitting the rocks in the stream bed.
ripple	n. A shallow stretch of rough water in a stream. (2) A small wave.
root	n. The undeground, anchoring portion of the tree which absorbs water and minerals.
sapwood	n. The lighter colored wood outside of heartwood which transports water and minerals up the tree.
scale	n. A series of numbered units marked at regular intervals on a surface. Maps have distance scales with regularly marked units (miles or kilometers) to help you determine the location of one object or distance from another.
scrubber	n. An apparatus for removing impurities.
seine	n. A long net with a lead weight attached to the bottom edge and a cork line attached to the upper edge to keep the net upright in the water. Seine nets are used to trap aquatic organisms like fish, insects, crustaceans and mollusks.
shrub	n. A woody plant less than 10 meters in height on which there are abundant side branches and no real trunk. Shrubs produce flowers and sides and may be evergreen or deciduous.
softwood	adj. a name given to the wood of a conifer tree.
species	n. The most specific unit classification in animals and plants. Members of species breed only among themselves.
stream bed	n. The bottom of a stream.
topography	n. A description of all the surface features, natural and artificial, of a particular region. A topographic map tells you not only where things are in relation to one another, but the shape of the land as well. The topography of the land is shown by lines and contours.
tree	n. An erect woody plant with a main trunk.
trunk	n. The main and central part of a tree.
tweezers	n. Small pincers, usually of metal, used for plucking or handling small objects.
upstream	n. In the direction opposite of the current of a stream. Up a stream.
vein	n. A fine tube or rib found in leaves. In plants, veins are vessels that carry water and food.
venation	n. The arrangement of a leaf's veins.
vine	n. A plant with a climbing or creeping stem.
wood	(1) n. The hard, fibrous substance within the bark which makes up the major portion of the stems and branches of trees. (2) adj. Describes plants which have wood in their stems and branches. Tree, shrubs and some vines are woody plants.
xylem	n. The cells located inside of the cambium layer, making up the wood portion of trees which are responsible for wood strength and the upward transport of water and minerals.