Dictionary of Hosta Terms

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Sun Tolerant Hostas & Fragrant Hostas

Many hosta descriptions, including ours, include terminology that the new hosta gardener might not know. Below is a short dictionary of terms commonly used to describe hostas. Credit should be given to the three sources used to compile the definitions for these terms—Clarence Falstad of the AHS Growers Association; W. George Schmid, author of The Genus Hosta; and the Registration Form for the International Registration of Hosta Cultivars.

Foliage Color Terms:

Albescent Yellow coloring becoming whiter as the season progresses.

Glaucous Having a waxy coating (also called "bloom") that produces a white to blue coloring on the plant’s leaves.

Lutescent Color becoming lighter or more yellow as the season progresses.

Margin A band of color around the leaf perimeter that is different in color. Margins may be:
Regular - even in width
Irregular - uneven in width
Jetting - Streaked toward the center of the leaf

Misted Having small short segments of darker pigmentation on a lighter leaf background, or the reverse with short light segments around a darker leaf background.

Mottled Blotched leaf color spotting not caused by pests or disease.

Speckled Small spotted, irregular coloring.

Stable Maintaining the plant’s pattern of color variegation when it divides.

Streaked/Splashed Having non-connected light and dark color variegations, usually in streaks running parallel to the leaf midrib. Usually unstable.

Variegated Having more that one color as a result of pigment differences.

Viridescent Beginning the season lighter colored and becoming more green as the season progresses.

Foliage Shape and Texture Terms:

Cordate Leaf shaped like a round or oval valentine heart.

Cupped Leaf margins curve upward above the leaf center; concave

Elliptic See sketch from AHS registration form.

Folded Bent upward parallel to the midrib of the leaf; keel-shaped.

Furled Leaf edges of sides that curl in toward the midrib

Furrowed Deeply impressed main veins on a generally smooth leaf.

Drawstring Effect Leaf distortion that pulls the leaf perimeter together into a closing cup shape.

Juvenile Pre-adult stage of plant development usually characterized by narrower, more pointed leaves, thinner marginal variegation, faster growth, and smaller leaves.

Lance-Shaped A narrow, pointed leaf with width less than ½ its length.

Ovate Egg-shaped leaves

Petiole The leaf stalk

Piecrust A consistent rippled appearance to the outer edge of a leaf.

Scape The flower stem of the plant

Seersuckered Puckered surface between the veins of the plant.

Substance The amount of thickness perceived by touching the fully expanded leaf blade.

Twisted Leaves rotated around themselves producing an askew position.

Undulated A coarsely waving leaf blade.

Flower Description Terms:

Bell-shaped hanging downward like a bell.

Closed Flower petals that do not separate and open.

Foliated Bloom Scapes Flower stems with small, modified leaves on them.

Spider More narrow, widely spaced petals that open upward.

Tubular Shaped like an extended bell facing outward and/or upward.