apex - the tip of a tree or branch

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.

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.

chokkan - Japanese term for the formal upright style

clump style - see Kabaduchi

concave cutters

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

E

eda - Japanese term for branch

evergreen - a tree that does not shed its leaves in winter

F

fungicide - a chemical used to combat the growth of fungus

G

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

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

M

miyogi - Japanese term for informal upright style

mycorhizzae

N

neagari - Japanese term for exposed root or octopus style

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

O

overpotting - planting a bonsai in a container that is larger than necessary to maintain it.

P

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

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

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

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