BOT-LAB: Forms of Plants

Reproduce, Defend, Survive, Compete in the landscape

Plant strategies include the mechanisms and responses plants use to

Evergreen

• Green leaves throughout the year

• Retain both stem and leaves

• Leaves rarely function after 2 to 7 years 

• Leaves have extra thick cuticles and other modifications to minimise water loss 

• Could shed leaves but does not have a bare look 

Deciduous

• Shed their leaves; Abscission

• Usually as an adaptation to cold or dry/wet season

• In autumn, leaves turn yellow or red, then fall, leaving branches bare until spring.

• Mutations that cause leaves to fall off  in autumn and mutation that cause bark to develop on all exposed parts of the stem reduce the surface area through which water is lost

Annuals

• Complete their cycles in a single year 

• Example: Zea mays (Corn).

• Situation: Farmers plant corn seeds in early rainy season, harvest before the next year, and replant again.

Biennials 

• Life cycle which lasts two years 

• Creates leaves in the first year, and then blooms to make fruit and die after 

• Example: Daucus carota (Carrot).

• Situation: In the first year, carrots are just leafy tops; in the second year, they send up tall stalks with flowers.

Perennials 

• Life cycle which lasts more than two years 

• Example: Rosa sp. (Roses).

• Situation: A rose bush in a garden blooms every year without replanting

Trees

• Large woody plant 

• Has secondary branches supported on a main stem or trunk 

Shrubs or bushes

• Smaller woody plant 

• Has multiple stems 

Example: Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (Gumamela).

Situation: Gumamela bushes often line school fences

Vines

• Herbaceous or woody plants 

• Has a climbing or twinning stem

Example: Ipomoea batatas (Sweet potato vine).

Situation: Sweet potato vines spread across garden soil or climb wooden stakes.

Forbs 

• Herbaceous broad-leaved plant 

• Often has showy flowers 

Example: Ipomoea batatas (Sweet potato vine).

Situation: Sweet potato vines spread across garden soil or climb wooden stakes.

Grasses 

• Herbaceous plant 

• Has slender blades and inconspicuous flowers 

Example: Oryza sativa (Rice).

Situation: Rice paddies turn golden before harvest season in the countryside.

aquatic plants

• Generally herbaceous plant 

• grows partly wholly in the water 

Example: Eichhornia crassipes (Water hyacinth).

Situation: Water hyacinths floating on rivers after heavy rain, sometimes blocking boat passage.