Glossary of M...

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macronutrients (n.): The nutritional elements, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur, essential for normal plant growth, development, and reproduction. They are usually derived from the soil.
macrophyllous (adj.): Having large leaves.
maculate (adj.): Spotted or blotched.
mean annual increment (M.A.I. or m.a.i.) (n.): The total increment of trees in a stand up to a given age, divided by that age, often expressed in annual cubic meters of growth per hectare (cubic feet of growth per acre).
manipulative (adj.): Manipulative experiments involve two or more experimental variables. They must be designed carefully to avoid ambiguous results. Contrast with a mensurative experiment.
mean (n.): In statistics, calculated by adding together all of the data values and dividing this sum by the total number of data values.
megagametophyte (n.): The female gametophyte which develops from the megaspore and produces the female gamete(s).
meiosis (n.): Reduction division resulting in the production of haploid gametes; a process consisting of two specialized nuclear divisions ultimately leading to the formation of eggs or sperm.
mensurative (adj.): Mensurative experiments make measurements at one or more points in space or time. The only thing that varies in such an experiment is space or time. Contrast with a manipulative experiment.
mesic: Characterized by intermediate moisture conditions, neither decidedly wet nor decidedly dry. The mid-range of the moisture scale from wet to dry. Moist throughout the growing season (compare xeric).
mesocarp (n.): The middle layer of a pericarp; this is the fleshy part of some fruits.
mesophyte (n.): A plant whose normal habitat is neither very wet nor very dry.
Mesozoic (n.): An era of geologic history marked by the cycads, evergreen trees, dinosaurs, marine and flying reptiles, and ganoid fishes.
metamorphism: (in Geology) The changes in the composition and textures of rock, caused by pressure, heat, and moisture. It results in a more compact and more highly crystalline condition.
metabolize (v.): Change by the chemical processes that constantly take place in living organisms.
micronutrients (n.): Nutritional trace elements, such as boron and manganese, that are necessary in minute quantities for normal plant growth.
mitochondria (n.): Organelles (inside a cell) that oxidize organic energy for use in cellular metabolism.
mitosis (n.): Normal division of a nucleus into two identical child nuclei by duplication and separation of chromosomes.
mode (n.): In statistics, the most frequently occurring value in a data set.
monocotyledon (n.) (monocotyledonous, adj.): A plant having a single cotyledon or seed leaf in the embryo. Flowering parts are often in multiples of three; leaves are often long and strap-like with parallel veins; roots are likely to be bulbs, corms, or rhizomes.
Includes grasses, lilies, irises, orchids, and palms.
A subclass of angiosperm.
Compare with dicotyledon.
monoecious: Having staminate and pistillate flowers in separate places on the same plant.
montane (n.): The biogeographic zone of relatively moist cool upland slopes below timberline It is characterized by large evergreen trees as a dominant life form.
mountain climate (n.): Trees do not grow at high altitudes.; Also see climate.
muck (n.): Highly decomposed organic material formed under conditions of waterlogging. It contains few recognizable remains of the original plants.
mutation (n.): An inherited and spontaneous change in the genetic structure of an organism.
mycelium (n.): The mass of threadlike filaments constituting the vegetative body of a fungus.
mycorrhizal (adj.): Having a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and the root of a plant.

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