Glossary - Bonsai Terms & Japanese

TreeBay

A GLOSSARY of BONSAI

A

alternate nodes - leaves which form on the alternate sides of a twig as in elm

apex - the tip of a tree or branch

auxin - plant hormone. *The most important is IAA, which has roles in phototropism, apical dominance, fruiting and rooting

air layer - a technique for propagating plants vegetatively by ring girdling the trunk or branch of a host plant, treating it with rooting hormone and wrapping in damp sphagnum moss or soil to promote root growth.

B

bonsai - Japanese term for the the art of cultivating and training a plant to create the illusion of a dwarfed tree.

bonkei - tray plantings containing stones, trees, plants and figurines

branch bender - a clamp or jack used to bend branches or trunk

branch splitter - a cutting tool used to divide branch or trunk to allow it to be bent more easily.

broadleaf evergreen - type of non-needled plants that remain green year-round. *Many of these are tropical. *Examples include ficus.

broom style - A training form for bonsai which resembles an inverted broom with a single trunk dividing into many symmetric branchlets which subdivide into twigs and so forth. *See Hokidachi

bunjin - Japanese term for an educated person or literati, a tree grown in this style, usually emphasizing a thin trunk, with a lean appearance and container with rough-hewn appearance.

C

callus - The raised roll of tissue that forms as a wound heals and closes

cambium - The layer of tissue between the xylem and phloem, where new wood is formed.

cascade - a bonsai style in which the trunk emerges from the soil and descends along one side of the container.

chokkan - Japanese term for the formal upright style

collecting - the process of gathering pre-bonsai material from the wild or suburban garden

clump style - see Kabaduchi

concave cutters - a bonsai hand tool used to remove branches with a flush or slightly depression-shaped cut.

crown - the series of branches at the apex of a tree that form shape that defines its silhouette.

cultivar - any named variety of plant with characteristics distinct from the species.

cutting - a *bit of a plant that has been cut and rooted. *A means to propagate.

D

deciduous - a plant that sheds its leaves and enters a state of dormancy annually

dioecious - plants with distinct male and female sexes, requiring one representative of each species to set fruit or viable seed.

E

eda - Japanese term for branch

evergreen - a tree that does not shed its leaves in winter. *Pine and juniper are examples.

F

fungicide - a chemical used to combat the growth of fungus

G

germination - the name for the process by which a seed leaves the dormant state and issues roots and shoots.

graft - to join a stem of one plant with another so they grow together. *Grafting is used both to propagate plant species and to add foliage where none previously existed on a bonsai.

grafting knife

H

han-kengai - Japanese term for semi-cascade - See also Kengai

hokidachi - Japanese Term for Broom Style

I

ishitsuki - Japanese term for root-over-rock style

J

jin - Pronounced JEEN - Japanese term for snags of deadwood on the ends of branches or trunk.

K

kabaduchi - Japanese term for clump style bonsai

kengai - Japanese term for cascade style. *See also han-kengai

L

lava - a soil amendment formed from crushed volcanic ash

layering - a method of propagating a tree by ring-girdling the trunk and inducing roots to grow from the wound.

M

moyogi - Japanese term for informal upright style

mycorhizzae - *beneficial fungi that develop in the soil in association with roots of higher plants.

N

neagari - Japanese term for exposed root or octopus style

nebari - Japanese term for the exposed root base of a tree, the root crown.

O

overpotting - planting a bonsai in a container that is larger than necessary to maintain it, sometimes done deliberately to provide room for future root development

P

phloem - the sap-carrying layer of the tree.

pH - measure of soil acidity. *pH 7.0 is neutral. *lower pH is acid, higher pH is alkaline.

perlite - *lightweight, porous, white granules that can hold water and air.

pot - A growing container for bonsai, usually high-fired clay

pumice - A white, hard volcanic product used as an agricultural amendment

R

raffia - A dried shredded reed used to wrap branches and trunk before bending to cushion and reduce the likelihood of splitting.

raft style - a bonsai style in which multiple trunks grow in a line from a connected base.

ramification - the development of a twigging structure by a series of divisions of branches into twigs and twiglets

rooting hormone / powder - a synthetic auxin in liquid or powder form which is used to treat cuttings taken from desireable plants to stimulate the development of adventitious roots.

S

sabamiki -A Japanese term for a tree with a wounded trunk tree that is hollow or split open

saikei - tray plantings containing stones, trees, plants, but in the strict sense, without figurines - See bonkei.

shari - Japanese term for exposed deadwood on a tree

sokan - Japanese term for a twin trunk tree

shakkan - Japanese term for slant style bonsai

sifting -

sphagnum - type of moss used as a soil amendment in its partially decomposed form, or as a rooting medium in the propagation of trees by air layering

suiban - Japanese term for a shallow tray without drainage holes intended for the display of suiseki

suiseki - Japanese term for viewing stone

T
tachiagari - Japanese term for the lower portion of the trunk

V
variegated - a tree with foliage spotted or striped in two or more colors.

vermiculite - mica that has been expanded with heat into a lightweight granule. Useful in rooting seedlings.

viewing stone - a stone appreciated for its natural characteristics, as a mountain or natural scene, including cliffs, waterfalls or an appearance reminiscent of a figure, animal, implement or structure, or perhaps an entirely abstract shape.

W
whetstone

wire

X
Xylem - beneath the phloem and cambium is this xylem layer of the tree that carries moisture and nutrients to the leaves

Y
yamadori - Japanese term for a tree collected from the wild mountain, or a tree with that appearance.

yose-ue - Japanese term for forest or group planting

Provided courtesy TreeBay.com

__________________

Want to be a seller on bonsaiAUCTIONS? Get authorized today!

bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!

Advertisement

HV66

When I started building my website, a list with Japanese terms was something I really wanted for on my website...

Took me some research on the net and many books, but i managed to make a nice dictionary of Japanese bonsai terms. You can check this dictionary on http://home.euphonynet.be/hv66bonsai/hv66bonsai-uk/dictionary-uk.html

This list of terms is last adapted on 25/02/2005. It's possible there are some mistakes in this list. Did you see a mistake, or if you know more terms for this list, please contact me...I am trying to make it as complete as possible...

Also interested in Japanese names for trees...so if you know names that aren't in this list, please do let me know...

Thanks,

Hans...

__________________
"Have no fear of perfection, you will NEVER reach it" - Salvator Dali

HV66Bonsai
BonsaiCafe