Plant Types Flashcards
What is a “woody plant”?
A woody plant is a plant that produces wood as its structural tissue and thus has a hard stem. They have a permanent branch structure
What is a “Herbaceous plant”?
A plant that doesn’t develop a woody structure.
Their stems and leaves usually die in winter
What is meant by the term “annual”?
A Herbaceous plant which completes its life cycle in 1 year
What is meant by the tern “biennial”?
A Herbaceous plant that completes its life in 2 years.
The 1st year is vegetative growth
The 2nd year, the plant will flower
What is meant by the term “perennial”?
A Herbaceous plant that has a life cycle of 2+years
Name some bulbous subcategories and characteristics they have
Bulbs, corms and tubers are bulbous plants
They have a mechanism for storing food which enables them to survive throughout their dormant season
What is meant by the term “ephemerals”?
Name an example
Plants that have a short life cycle but have multiple life cycles in a year. This has developed as a survival mechanism
Eg Taraxacum officinale (dandilion)
What is meant by the term “evergreen”?
Evergreen plants retain their leaves in all seasons
What is a hedge?
A hedge is a collection of trees or shrubs planted closely together to form a continuous row
They’re cut to maintain a regular size and shape
What is groundcover?
Why is it useful?
Give an example?
Groundcover is low growing and spreading plants, used to cover a large area
They are used to suppress weeds
Eg Geranium macrorrhizum
What are clumbers?
Climbers are plants with a natural adaption for growing up vertical structures
What are alpines?
Alpines are small plants that grow naturally in mountainous areas, often used in rockeries
What are water plants?
Water plants have a natural adaption for growing in water or wet soil (bog plants)
What are vegetables?
Vegetables are plants which are grown to provide food. The edible part may vary including roots, leaves or stems
