variegated or variegation - plant tissues such as leaves, stems, scapes and seed pods having more than one color due to a difference in pigment components.

In hostas there are three patterns of variegation including marginal, medio or medial variegated and splashed or streaked.

variety - botanically, a variety is a naturally occurring variation of the species.

For example, species honeylocust trees always have large thorns and are not especially valued for landscape trees. Then, someone stumbled onto a tree in the woods that did not have thorns for some reason and that one is the basis for all the thornless honeylocusts now grown in the landscape.

The name of the plant is Gleditsia triacanthos var inermis where the inermis means thornless. Note that the var abbreviation for variety is not italicized.

In generally gardening terms, variety is often misused as a synonym for cultivar. For instance, you hear people call 'Sum and Substance' a variety of hosta when in fact, it is a cultivar. Oh, well.
vascular - another term for the water or sap conducting tissue of a plant, the xylem and phloem.
vector - used primarily to refer to something that transmits a disease from one plant to another. For example, sucking insects such as leaf hoppers often transmit viruses from plant to plant. Remember that humans can also act as vectors by moving diseases such as the bacteria that cause fireblight or viruses on pruning tools.
vegetative growth - This refers to the growth on the plant that is NOT reproductive i.e. flowers. In gardening, it is often used to describe a situation where too much nitrogen fertilizer was applied to the plant which stimulates extra leaves and stem growth at the expense of flower buds and flowers. Nitrogen is part of the chlorophyll molecule that causes the reflection of green light which makes plants appear green to the human eye.
vegetative reproduction - these are ways to multiple plants through non-sexual i.e. asexual reproduction.

Examples include grafting, budding, division, layering, cuttings and tissue culture.
 
vein pairs - the matched set of veins on opposite side of the center midrib. This is one way to identify different species and cultivars of hosta.
veins - prominent lines of connective tissue for carrying water and nutrients in a leaf.
venation - the arrangement of veins in a leaf blade.
vermiculite - a material derived from the mineral mica that is heated to 1,800 degrees F which makes it sterile and good for use in propagation of plants. It adds pore space to artificial media and absorbs water.
vernalization - refers to the process of exposing plants to certain cold temperatures that will trigger formation of flower buds or other growth responses.
vertebrates - animals with spines including moles, mice, groundhogs and humans.
 
vestigial leaves - rudimentary leaves found on the flower scapes of certain plants including some hostas.
viable seed -  seeds capable of germinating and developing into a seedling. Many hybrid cultivars are sterile and not capable of producing viable seeds.
vigor - refers to the overall health of the plant and its ability to grow and produce flowers at normal rates. Most landscape plants are best kept at a state of moderate vigor. High rates of vigor may encourage a lot of growth which calls for division sooner and may make the plant more susceptible to certain diseases. Low rates of vigor result in an anemic looking plant that is off color and does not produce many flowers.
vines Images of Vines.
viridescent - some hostas have the characteristic of starting the season as a light colored green leaf which becomes a darker green as the season progresses. Here is a list of viridescent hostas.
virus - sub-microscopic particles that are only capable of "living" and reproducing inside living cells. In plants, they often cause a symptom called mottling and result in a plant that lacks vigor. Once they are inside the plant, you cannot get them out. See Hosta Virus
 

 

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