Glossary E

E

EARTHWORM CASTINGS
Manure, i.e., excretion, of earthworms. Earthworm castings are high in nutrients for plants and microorganisms.

ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Development that does not degrade (often improves) the quality of life, both now and in the future, in a way that maintains the ecological processes on which life depends.

ECOSYSTEM
Stable, though not necessarily permanent, community of plants that have developed interrelationships with each other and with native wildlife to form a distinct, self-sustaining system. A few examples of ecosystems are tallgrass prairie, boreal forest, estuary, and oak savannah. Though ecosystems are a useful concept, in real life a "pure" ecosystem is unusual; more common are areas in which several ecosystems overlap to various degrees.

EDGING PLANT
a compact and short plant used to line or trim borders

EDIBLE LANDSCAPE
Landscaping using vegetables and fruit plant.

EGGPLANT, AUBERGINE
A member of the nightshade family, the eggplant is related to the potato, tomato, and pepper and has its origins in India and Southeast Asia. Arab and Asian traders brought eggplant to the Middle East, North Africa, and finally Europe. The first eggplants were small, round, egg-shaped and white (that's how this vegetable got its name). The prime eggplant season is July through October, but the purple variety is available all year long.

ENDEMIC
native or local to your area - used to apply to species

ELECTROCONDUCTIVITY (EC)
A measurement of how much electrical current a solution can conduct; corresponds to amount of fertilizer dissolved in solution.

ELDERBERRY
The purple/black fruit of the elder tree, elderberries can be eaten raw but are quite sour and tart. They are better used to make jams, pies, and homemade wine. The creamy white elderberry flowers can be added to salads or batter-dipped and fried like fritters.

-ENSIS
botanical name suffix meaning from a region or country. Canadensis or nevadensis are two examples.

ENTIRE
Having a smooth (uncut or untoothed) margin as with many leaves. An undivided and unserrated leaf.

EPHEMERALS
Plants that emerge and bloom during one season, then die back for the remainder of the year. Many spring ephemerals bloom in woodlands, including trillium and ladyslipper.

EPITHET
A word used as part of a species or variety name for a plant

EPIPHYTE
A plant which grows above ground attaching itself to trees or rocks. The Amazon Air Plant seen in many nurseries is a good example.

ESPALIER
Trained woody plant in a lattice-like or fench-like pattern

ETHYLENE
Natural occuring gas that ripens fruit - used to ripen bananas

ETIOLATION
Stretching of a plant and loss of color due to a lack of needed light

EUROPEAN FOULVROOD
An infectious brood disease of honey bees caused by streptococcus p/u ton.

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
The process of loss of water from a plant's tissue and soil

EVERLASTING
A flowering plant that retains colors when cut and dried

EVERGREEN
Plants whose leaf cover remains alive year-round, though individual leaves may die and fall. Includes species, such as Rhododendron, whose leaves go dormant and change color at the end of the growing season, then green up again for the new season. Other evergreens, such as Pinus banksiana (Jack Pine), discard batches of leaves periodically. Evergreens may have needles (pine and spruce, for instance) or "broad" leaves (holly and rhododendron). Perennial plants whose leaves all die at once (and usually fall) at the end of each growing season (i.e. maple trees) are deciduous.

EX
Of or according to a particular expert. This is an expression used by taxonomists who have differing definitions of a species or other taxon.It is sometimes used in nursery catalogs when the identify of a plant may be in question (ie. Plantus viscosum ex J. Doe). The expert may or may not be the physical source of the plant.

EXFOLIATING
Usually said of bark (ie. sycamore) that peels and sheds off.

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
Abreviated as ET, it is the amount of water that transpires through a plants leaves combined with the amount that evaporates from the soil in which it is growing. Used as a guide for how much water a plant needs per day/week/year.

EVERLASTING
Flowers with papery petals which retain some or all of their color when dried for winter decorations.

EXOTIC
Strictly speaking, a plant which is not native to the area, but popularly any unusual or striking plant, like those grown from GreenWeb seeds!.

EXTRACTED HONEYT
Honey removed from the comb by centrifugal force.

EYE
An undeveloped growth bud or the center of a flower.