50 Significant Bonsai Terms

1. Air Layer  Means of producing a new Bonsai from an existing tree or Bonsai by propogating roots from a branch using ring barking.

2. Akadama Classic Japanese Bonsai soil. Simulates the volcanic material of Japan and assists in establishing the water content of the soil as it changes colour as it dries out.

3. Apex The top or very highest point of a Bonsai.

4. Backbudding  Process of encouraging growth on a branch where growth is non-existent.

5. Broadleaved Mainly deciduous, non-conifer trees with broad leaves.

6. Bunjingi Bonsai Style - literati. This is were the tree has around two thirds of its trunk without any branches growing at all illustrating age and maturity.

7. Buttress  The area of the trunk of a tree which is at the base where the roots surface.

8. Callus Scar tissue which forms over the wound on a tree as part of the healing process.

9. Canopy Top upper-most branches and those on the outer part of the tree.

10. Carving The process of cutting out parts of the tree to form a shari or a jin.

11. Chokkan Bonsai style - formal upright. Straight trunk with symmetrical branches.

12. Crown Upper part of the tree formed by the branches and foliage.

13. Defoliation Removal of leaves to encourage new shoots and potentially smaller leaves.

14. Dieback The death of growth at the tip of branches.

15. Dormant Period of the year when little or no growth occurs - usually Autumn and Winter months.

16. Fertilizer Food for Bonsai with Phosphorous for the roots, Nitrogen for the foliage and Potassium for the flowers.

17. Foliage pad Mass of foliage on a branch.

18. Fukinagashi Bonsai style - windswept. Trunk and branches swept back in one direction illustrating a tree exposed to violent winds.

19. Genus A grouping of related species of Bonsai.

20. Girth This is the circumference of the trunk of the Bonsai tree measured at its widest point or at just above the root base.

21. Grafting Process of bonding one living plant to another.

22. Han-Kengai Bonsai style - semi-cascade. Where the branches and trunk of a tree are swept to one side but not fully weeping. Simulates a tree subject to violent winds.

23. Hokidachi Bonsai style - broom. Straight trunk with symmetrical branches and foliage arranged in a semi-circular dome.

24. Ikadabuki Bonsai style - raft. Plant is laid on its side and the branches are arranged in a group formation trained vertically.

25. Ishitsuki Bonsi style - root on rock. A tree which has roots arranged so they in a crevice in the rock.

26. Jin A branch which has been stripped of its bark and cambium to represent a dead branch.

27. Kabudachi  Bonsai style - clump. More crowded in appearance than a group planting as the trunks all grow from the same point on the root mass.

28. Kengai Bonsai Style - cascade. Where the branches and trunk of a tree are swept to one side and hang below the roots. Simulates tree on the edge of a cliff subjected to violent winds.

29. Leader The main shoot at the top of a tree

30. Lime Sulpher Chemical used to whiten the stripped branch or trunk in order to mature a jin or shari.

31. Mame Very small Bonsai tree.

32. Moyogi Bonsai style - informal upright. Trunk curves and twists through its taper up to and sometimes through the branches.

33. Neagari Tree with visible and exposed roots.

34. Nebari Exposed and visible surface roots.

35. Node Point on a Bonsai (trunk or branch) where leaves emerge.

36. Pinching Means of controlling and shaping the directing the growth of foliage.

37. Potensia Immature Bonsai material or tree. Potential for forming into tru Bonsai tree though.

38. Ramification Dense branch structure after repeated web like divisions of branches from the trunk to the outer foliage.

39. Sekijoju Bonsai style - root over rock. A tree which has roots arranged so they grown over the rock and into the container.

40. Shakan Bonsai style - slanting. Similar to the formal upright style but with the trunk slanting to one side.

41. Shari Area where bark and cambium has been removed from the trunk

42. Shohin Small Bonsai tree.

43. Snaking Use of wire to bend and shape a tree in a snaking pattern to create a visual effect and to shorten the overall length of the branch.

44. Sojo Bonsai style - twin trunk. Bonsai has two trunks which are joined at the base of the tree.

45. Species Grouping of Bonsai plants.

46. Suiseki Stones used in a Bonsai display to represent large boulders or mountains.

47. Tap root Main and widest root of a Bonsai.

48. Tokonoma A particular area in a house where Bonsai are displayed.

49. Yamadori Trees collected from the wild which are developed into Bonsai.

50. Yose-ue Bonsai style - group/forest. Bonsai are arranged in a container to resemble a forest of trees.