Perennial plant

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The botanical meaning of the term perennial plant differs significantly from its meaning in everyday language, but also in horticultural parlance.

Everyday language

Perennial plants are popularly all plants that are older than two years, regardless of how often they bloom and fruit, whereby two-year-old plants are often counted among the perennial.

Botanical terms

  • In the botanical jargon, however, perennial plants (synonym plurienne plants ) are only those that are older than two years, but only bloom and fruit once and then die. Collective term hapaxanth .
  • Plants that are also older than two years, but bloom and fruit more than once , usually annually, are called perennial plants (synonym perennial plants ). The age at which flowering and fruiting begins depends on the respective plant species. Collective term: pollakanth .
  • Plants eventually, the only two (separate in our region through a cold spell from each other) growing seasons for life, are biennial plants (synonym bienne plants called).

Summary

Collective term Botanical Horticultural Characteristics
Semelpar

( once giving birth )

In botany also:
Hapaxanth
( once blooming )
Monocarp
( once fruiting )

(summer) annuell
( annual ) 		annual only one continuous vegetation period until flowering and seed formation, then withering herbaceous
bienn / winter annual ( two years ) biennial two vegetation periods separated by a cold or dry period until flowering and seed formation, then withering
plurienn
( perennial ) 		perennial More than two vegetation periods separated by cold or dry periods until flowering and seed formation, then withering herbaceous ( perennial ) or woody ( subshrubs , shrubs , trees , vines )
Iteropar

( repeatedly giving birth )

In botany also:
Pollakanth ( multiple flowers )
Polycarp
( multiple fruiting )

perenn
( persistent ) 		multiple flowering and seed formation without subsequent death

Special case of
"annual grown plants" :
perennial or perennial, but not hardy , therefore de facto only surviving one vegetation period in a temperate climate

literature

  • Manfred A. Fischer, Wolfgang Adler, Karl Oswald: Excursion flora for Austria, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol . 2nd, improved and enlarged edition. State of Upper Austria, Biology Center of the Upper Austrian State Museums, Linz 2005, ISBN 3-85474-140-5 .
  • Rudolf Schubert , Klaus Werner, Hermann Meusel (eds.): Excursion flora for the areas of the GDR and the FRG . Founded by Werner Rothmaler. 13th edition. tape 2 : vascular plants . People and knowledge, Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-06-012539-2 .