plant_growth_form
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- Label: Plant growth form
- Entity URI: https://w3id.org/APD/traits/trait_0030010
- Type: categorical
- Definition: A whole plant [PO:0000003] phenotype [NCIT:C16977] trait that summarises different components of a whole plant's shape [PATO:0000052] and structure [PATO:0000141] into general groups [NCIT:C43359]. Characters that contribute to the plant form categories include the height [PATO:0000119] of the vegetative shoot system [PO:0025607], the distribution of leaves [PO:0025034] along the plant stem [PO:0009047], and the position [PATO:0000140] and count [NCIT:C25463] of stems and/or leaves relative to the ground surface.;The form of a plant, capturing a general sense of plant height and shape, which parts of a plant are woody versus herbaceous, the number of stems arising at ground level, and the distribution of leaves relative to the main stem.
- Additional comments: This definition of plant growth form is narrower than what is used by many other references. Here, information pertaining to where a plant grows is captured by `plant_growth_substrate`. Terminology about the shape and length of stems and distribution of leaves is included in `stem_growth_habit`. An indication of whether a plant is parasitic is presented in `parasitic`. Included in the list of plant growth forms are two terms that are exclusively used to describe Australian plants, mallee and hummock, and one, tussock, that is an important growth form of Australian grasses, but globally used less frequently.
- Allowed values:
value description basal_large A plant whose leaves form a distinctly large basal tuft or rosette, including large acaulescent monocots and cycads. climber Plant that climbs up another plant's stem or branches, rather than being able to support itself. Term used only if datasets do not specify if a climbing plant is herbaceous (a vine) or woody (a liana). climber_herbaceous Herbaceous plant that climbs up another plant's stem or branches, rather than being able to support itself. This is usually synonymous with `vine`. Types of climbers (scrambling, twining) are captured under the trait `plant_climbing_mechanism`. (Synonyms, vine) climber_woody Woody or thick-stemmed (>2 cm) plant that climbs up another plant's stem or branches, rather than being able to support itself. This is usually synonymous with `liana`. Woody climbers generally use hooks, tendrils, and/or adventitious roots to climb; the climbing mechanisms used by a taxon are captured under the trait `plant_climbing_mechanism`. (Synonyms, liana) fern A taxonomic grouping that includes acaulescent ferns; ferns are vascular plants that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. geophyte Subcategory of herb, specifically referring to plants that survive the winter/dry season as an organ (rhizome, bulb, corm, or tuber) buried in dry soil, with all leaves dying back each year. graminoid Herbaceous plant with a grass-like morphology that is within the order Poales. Taxa both with and without a tussock form are mapped to this term. This term is most frequently applied to three large monocot families, Poaceae, Cyperaceae, and Juncaceae, but the term could apply to other taxa within Poales with a grass-like morphology, including narrow, linear leaves and non-showy flowers, including Restionaceae, Centrolepidaceae, Anarthriaceae, and Ecdeiocoleaceae. Taxa outside Poales with a grass-like morphology should be designated as `herbs` and also have the term `tufted` mapped to the trait `stem_growth_habit`. graminoid_not_tussock A subcategory of graminoid, indicating a plant which explicitly lacks a tussock morphology, with the leaves not growing in tufts. herb A seed-bearing plant which does not have a woody above-ground stem; when available this term has been divided into more detailed terms. (Synonyms, forb) hummock Plant that grows as a dense mound up to 1 metre in height. The term generally applies only to species within the genera Triodia that form such mounds and these are considered a distinctive and uniquely Australian growth form. lycophyte A taxonomic grouping that includes quillworts, clubmosses, and spike mosses. mallee Refers to Eucalyptus species which are small trees that form a large lignotuber. They have multiple stems arising at or near ground level and regenerate from the lignotuber following fire. palmoid Plant that bears a rosette-like canopy of typically large, often compound leaves atop a usually thick (pachycaulous), columnar, unbranched or little-branched stem. Palms, tree ferns, trunked cycads, trunked grass-trees, and Pandanus are mapped to this term. (Synonyms, rosette-tree, palm, grass-tree) shrub A woody plant that is distinguished by NOT being a tree, due to one of more of the following characteristics, 1) they are less than 8 metres in height; 2) if a plant community includes trees, the shrubs are shorter than the surrounding trees and not part of the canopy; 3) in comparison to trees, the leaves are more distributed along the entire trunk; 4) the plant has multiple relatively narrow stems arising at or near ground level. The definition of `shrub` is complex, as there are many single-stemmed shrubs within Australia and many taxa that are described in the taxonomic literature as a shrub or small tree. subshrub A plant that is only woody at the base, with the remainder of the stems regenerating yearly. This term is not meant to encompass short-lived plants that are only borderline woody. (Synonyms, suffrutescent) tree A tall, woody, perennial plant, usually with a single main trunk, and its leaves predominantly elevated above the ground surface. tussock A subcategory of graminoid, which is a plant where many shoots from the basal meristem form prominent tufts.
See the AusTraits Plant Dictionary (https://w3id.org/APD/traits/trait_0030010) for additional information about this trait.
Coverage
For this trait, AusTraits includes a total of 112,992 records. This includes:
- data for 31,557 species.
- data for 309 families.
- data from 104 datasets (see the portal Citations tab for a list of sources)