Part 2: Botanical terminology

3. Types of hair

There are many different forms of hairs which occur on the surfaces of leaves and stems and understanding these different types of hair can be very important in plant identification.

Lanate = woolly

Close-up of flower with pink centre and white, soft, downy outer

Stachys byzantine
Quartl / CC BY-SA 3

Bristly = stiff hairs

Close up of a yellow flower with fine, prickly covering to stem and leaves

Picris echioides
Stemonitis / CC BY-SA 3

Glandular = glands on the ends of hairs

Close up of a green plant stp with what looks like bobbles on the end of the fina hairs covering it

Geranium dissectum
Stefan.lefnaer / CC BY-SA 4