Ephemeral Plant
Encyclopedia
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s, it refers to several distinct growth strategies. The first, spring ephemeral, refers to perennial plants that die back to their underground parts after a short growth and reproduction phase each spring
Spring (season)
Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...
when excess light is available. Another strategy is that of weedy ephemerals, which are very short lived weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
y annual
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
s whose entire life cycle
Biological life cycle
A life cycle is a period involving all different generations of a species succeeding each other through means of reproduction, whether through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction...
takes less than a growing season
Growing season
In botany, horticulture, and agriculture the growing season is the period of each year when native plants and ornamental plants grow; and when crops can be grown....
. Desert ephemerals are plants which are adapted
Adaptation
An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....
to take advantage of the short wet periods in arid
Arid
A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
s.
Spring ephemerals
Spring ephemeral describes a life habit of perennialPerennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
woodland wildflower
Wildflower
A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...
s which develop aerial parts (i.e. stem
Plant stem
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...
s, leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
, and flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s) of the plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
early each spring and then quickly bloom, go to seed and then quickly die back to its underground parts (i.e. root
Root
In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...
s, rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
s, and bulb
Bulb
A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...
s) for the remainder of the year. This strategy is very common in herbaceous
Herbaceous
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
communities of deciduous forests as it allows small herbaceous plants to take advantage of the high amount of sunlight
Sunlight
Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total frequency spectrum of electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is filtered through the Earth's atmosphere, and solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon.When the direct solar radiation is not blocked...
reaching the forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
floor prior to the leaf-out of woody plant
Woody plant
A woody plant is a plant that uses wood as its structural tissue. These are typically perennial plants whose stems and larger roots are reinforced with wood produced adjacent to the vascular tissues. The main stem, larger branches, and roots of these plants are usually covered by a layer of...
s. Examples include: spring beauties, trillium
Trillium
Trillium is a genus of about 40–50 species of spring ephemeral perennials, native to temperate regions of North America and Asia....
s, and harbinger of spring.
Spring ephemerals include:
- Claytonia sp.ClaytoniaClaytonia is a genus of 26 species of flowering plants in the family Montiaceae, primarily native to North America, with a few species extending south to Guatemala in Central America, and northwest to northeastern Asia....
(Spring Beauty) - Dicentra canadensisDicentra canadensisDicentra canadensis, or squirrel corn, is a herbaceous plant in the fumitory family with small yellow clustered bulblets, finely dissected leaves, and white heart-shaped flowers, native to deciduous woodland in eastern North America.-References:...
(Squirrel Corn) - Dicentra cucullariaDicentra cucullariaDicentra cucullaria is a perennial herbaceous plant, native to rich woods of eastern North America, with a disjunct population in the Columbia River Basin....
(Dutchman's Breeches) - Dicentra eximiaDicentra eximiaDicentra eximia is a herbaceous perennial growing from rhizomes, native to rocky woodland and bases of cliffs in the Appalachians from Pennsylvania south.-Description:...
(Turkey Corn) - Dodecatheon sp.DodecatheonDodecatheon is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the Primrose family Primulaceae. The species have basal clumps of leaves and nodding flowers that are produced at the top of tall stems that rise from where the leaves join the crown. They are commonly called Shooting Stars because of the...
(Shootingstar) - Erigenia bulbosaErigenia bulbosaErigenia bulbosa, also known as harbinger of spring or pepper and salt, is a perennial plant in the carrot family . E. bulbosa is the only species in the genus Erigenia . This plant is known as harbinger of spring because it is one of the earliest blooming native wildflowers of rich forests in the...
(Harbinger of Spring) - Erythronium americanumErythronium americanumErythronium americanum is a herbaceous flowering plant in the family Liliaceae. The common name "Trout lily" arises from the appearance of its mottled, colored leaves which allegedly resemble the coloring of brook trout. It blooms in early spring with yellow flowers tinged with red...
(Yellow Trout Lilly) - Hepatica nobilis (Hepatica)
- Houstonia caeruleaHoustonia caeruleaHoustonia caerulea is a perennial ornamental plant in the Rubiaceae family.-Description:...
(Azure Bluet) - Jeffersonia diphyllaJeffersoniaJeffersonia which is also known as twinleaf or rheumatism root, is a small genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Berberidaceae. The two species are native to eastern Asia and eastern North America. They are uncommon spring wildflowers, which grow in limestone soils of rich woodland...
(Twinleaf) - Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)
- Thalictrum thalictroidesThalictrum thalictroidesThalictrum thalictroides is a spring ephemeral plant in the buttercup family, prized for its white to pink flowers, native to woodland in eastern North America.-Description:...
(Rue Anemone) - Trillium erectumTrillium erectumTrillium erectum, also known as Wake-robin, red trillium, purple trillium, Beth root or Stinking Benjamin, is a spring-flowering perennial plant native to the east and north-eastern areas of North America. The flowers are a deep red colour, and the plant takes its name Wake-robin by analogy with...
(Red Trillium/Wake Robin) - Trillium grandiflorumTrillium grandiflorumTrillium grandiflorum, commonly known as white trillium, great white trillium, white wake-robin, or in French as trille blanc, is a perennial monocotyledonous plant in the lily family...
(Common/White Trillium/Wake Robin) - Trillium luteumTrillium luteumTrillium luteum, or yellow wakerobin is a spring wildflower with native populations in the Great Smoky Mountains and surrounding areas. It occurs in parts of North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky, usually in the shade of mature deciduous trees on calcium-rich soils. It is especially...
(Yellow Trillium/Wake Robin) - Trillium ovatumTrillium ovatumTrillium ovatum, the Western Wake Robin, Pacific Trillium, or Western White Trillium, is a member of the Trilliaceae family, or sometimes included within the Liliaceae or Melanthiaceae. It occurs in parts of the western United States and western Canada, usually in rich forest...
(Western Trillium/Wake Robin)
Weedy ephemerals
Alternatively ephemeral also refers to annual plants that complete their life-cycle in much less than one year; when plants are classified simply as ephemeral plants this is often what is meant. Allowing more than one generation of the plant to set seed in one growing season. These plants rarely have any commercial use, and can be invasive weeds. Examples include: Cardamine hirsutaCardamine hirsuta
Hairy Bittercress, Cardamine hirsuta, is a winter annual plant native to Europe and Asia, but also present in North America as an invasive weed. The plant is a member of the mustard family , and is edible as a bitter herb. It flowers from quite early in the Spring until the Autumn...
and Cannabis ruderalis
Cannabis ruderalis
Cannabis ruderalis is a putative species of Cannabis originating in central Asia. It flowers earlier than C. indica or C. sativa, does not grow as tall, and can withstand much harsher climates than either of them. Cannabis ruderalis is purported to go into budding based strictly on age and not on...
.
Desert ephemerals
Desert ephemerals, such as the Arabidopsis thalianaArabidopsis thaliana
Arabidopsis thaliana is a small flowering plant native to Europe, Asia, and northwestern Africa. A spring annual with a relatively short life cycle, arabidopsis is popular as a model organism in plant biology and genetics...
, are plants which are adapted
Adaptation
An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....
to take advantage of the very short favourable seasons in desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
s. Annual plant
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
s in deserts may use the weedy ephemeral strategy to survive in the desert environment. These species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
survive the dry seasons through seed dormancy
Seed dormancy
Seed dormancy is a condition of plant seeds that prevents germination when the seeds are under optimal environmental conditions for germination. Living, non dormant seeds germinate when soil temperatures and moisture conditions are suited for cellular processes and division; dormant seeds do...
. Alternatively, some perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
desert plants may die back to their underground parts and become dormant when there is not enough water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
available.