Dwarf

Dwarf [ Botany - Horticulture ]	Dictionary of botanic terminology - index of names
Adjective: Dwarfish Adverb: Dwarfishly Noun: Dwarfishness

The description of a plant cultivar that is smaller than the species plant, though it has the same basic characteristics.

Dwarf plant are usually the a result of selective breeding or of a genetic mutation. (but dwarf plant can also occur through natural causes e.g. diseases and non-optimal growing condition)

Dwarf is often used before a noun ( e.g. a dwarf conifer, a dwarf dahlia etc…)

Dwarfing [ Botany - Phytopathology ]
Synonym: Stunting, Underdevelopment, Hypotrophy

The underdevelopment of a plant or of one of its organs.

A stunting of normal growth characterized in plants by smaller than normal leaves and stems.
In horticulture dwarfing is considered a desirable characteristic in modern orchards and gardens, where genetic dwarfs may be selected and propagated, or more often, scions are grafted on to dwarfing rootstocks. Almost all modern apples in commercial use are propagated as dwarf or semi-dwarf trees for ease of picking and spraying. Dwarf ornamental are also extensively cultivated in gardens and containers as they do not need a lot of pruning to stay small size.

Dwarfing of plant and organs is also the symptom of several plant disease.

To dwarf [ Horticulture ]

Transitive verb (past and past participle dwarfed, present participle dwarfing, 3rd person present singular dwarfs)

1. Make a plant or plant parts seem small
2. Stunt plant's growth

For example the bonsai is the art of dwarfing trees by careful root and stem pruning coupled with root restriction.

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Holdfast roots [ Botany ]
Dictionary of botanic terminology - index of names

Some species of climbing plants develop holdfast roots which help to support the vines on trees, walls, and rocks. By forcing their way into minute pores and crevices, they hold the plant firmly in place.

Climbing plants, like the poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata), and trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), develop holdfast roots which help to support the vines on trees, walls, and rocks. By forcing their way into minute pores and crevices, they hold the plant firmly in place. Usually the Holdfast roots die at the end of the first season, but in some species they are perennial. In the tropics some of the large climbing plants have hold-fast roots by which they attach themselves, and long, cord-like roots that extend downward through the air and may lengthen and branch for several years until they strike the soil and become absorbent roots.

Major references and further lectures:
1) E. N. Transeau “General Botany” Discovery Publishing House, 1994