Glossary [ A ]
Altricial
Helpless when born or hatched and dependent upon parents for food and care for a period of time. Compare precocial.
Angiosperms
Flowering vascular plants with seeds enclosed in the ovaries (as compared to gymnosperms, such as conifers, which have naked seeds).
Annual plant
A plant which completes its life cycle from seed germination, though reproduction to death within one year.
Autotomy
The self-amputation of a limb or body part in order to escape predation; e.g., a western banded gecko can shed its tail or an immature walkingstick its leg when threatened, then regenerate the amputated part.
