R2101 1.4 Define a range of botanical and horticultural terms

Question 1

What is an Ephemeral?

Answer 1

Plant thas has several lifecycles within a growing season

Question 2

What is an annual?

Answer 2

Plants whose entire lifecycle takes place within one year

Question 3

What is a biennial?

Answer 3

Life cycle spans twe seasons
1st year - leafy growth
2n year - seeds

Question 4

What is perennial?

Answer 4

2 years+

Question 5

3 types of perennial

Answer 5

1. Tender perennial - cannot survive UK winters
2. Woody perennial - tough stems above ground which survive year after year
3. Herbaceous perennial - non-woody plant that dies back to ground level and grows from buds at the base the following year

Question 6

2 examples of trees

Answer 6

Fagus sylvatica

Betula pendula

Question 7

2 types of shrub

Answer 7

Mahonia japonica

Fatsia japonica

Question 8

Perennial as biennial and true biennial examples

Answer 8

True biennial - Dipsacus fullonum (teasel)
Perennial used as biennial - Erysimum Cheirii (wallflower)

Question 9

3 types of Perennial

Answer 9

1. Tender Perennial
2. Woody Perennial
3. Herbaceous Perennial

Question 10

What is a tender Perennial?

Answer 10

Cannot survive UK winters

Question 11

What is a woody perennial?

Answer 11

Has tough stems above the ground which survive year after year

Question 12

What is a herbaceous perennial?

Answer 12

Non-woody plant that dies back to ground level and grows from buds at the base the following year

Question 13

What is a tree?

Answer 13

1. Woody perennial
2. Usually a main stem or trunk up to about 2 metres+ with branched above
3. Broadleaved
4. Mostly deciduous

Question 14

What is a conifer?

Answer 14

1. Woody perennial
2. Usually have a central stem or trunk but branches often start at the base
3. Botanically different - not angiosperms
4. Leaves are needles or flat scales
5. Seeds held in open case, not enclosed
6. Mainly evergreen, some deciduous

Question 15

What is a shrub?

Answer 15

1. Woody perennial
2. Generally shorter than trees
3. Short main stems or multiple stems at ground level
4. Evergreen or deciduous

Question 16

3 main types of herbaceous plants

Answer 16

1. Evergreen perennial (some grasses)
2. Non-evergreen perennial (corms, tubers, bulbs)
3. Sub-shrub (herbs) e.g. Rosmarinus officinalis

Question 17

What is a herbaceous evergreen perennial?

Answer 17

No woody framework, but keeps some leaves above ground through the winter months

Question 18

What is a non-evergreen perennial herbaceous plant?

Answer 18

No woody framework and lose their leaves in winter dying back to a crown of dormant buds at ground level or to an underground storage organ which holds food for next seasons growth

Question 19

What is a sub-shrub?

Answer 19

Plants which have a woody base and a herbaceous top which die right back in winter to the ground or keep woody framework in mild years

Question 20

Horticultural annual definition

Answer 20

A botanical biennial or perennial that is used in the garden as an annual

e.g. plant doesn’t look its best after first year, or crops are harvested after one year

Question 21

Horticultural biennial definition

Answer 21

A botanical perennial that is used in the garden for just two years (after which it looks leggy/straggly)

Question 22

Importance of life cycle on horticulture?

Answer 22

What is grown, and when; what is available to the customer.

• Prices. Mature plants more expensive. Seed is cheap compared to 3L container grown stock.

• Nurseries may specialise in different stock and become experts at particular stages of the plant life cycle in terms of propagation.

• It is important to know about plant life cycles when using different types of planting schemes.