plant_growth_substrate

Label: Plant growth substrate
Entity URI: https://w3id.org/APD/traits/trait_0030015
Type: categorical
Definition: A whole plant [PO:0000003] life history [ECOCORE:00000018] trait which indicates either the substrate [EFO:0005061] on which a plant grows [GO:0040007] or, broadly, whether the plant grows in an aquatic [EnvThes:21785] or terrestrial [EnvThes:21880] habitat [ENVO:01000739]. Substrate is defined as the surface to which an organism is attached.;Trait broadly indicating where a plant is usually found, referencing the habitat in which a plant grows, the substrate to which a plant is attached, or a plant's growth medium.
Additional comments: Although the majority of vascular plants are `terrestrial`, for most taxonomic groups `plant growth substrate` is only recorded if a plant is not terrestrial. The exceptions are ferns and orchids, where both floras and individual researchers tend to specifically indicate which taxa are terrestrial. The values under this trait are recorded as part of `plant growth form` by many researchers, trait handbooks, and databases; they have been split out here, as the terms capturing what a plant is attached to do not generally describe the form of a plant.

Allowed values:

value	description
aquatic	A plant that grows in water.
epiphyte	A plant that grows upon another plant.
hemiepiphyte	A plant that spends part of its life cycle as an epiphyte, growing upon another plant.
lithophyte	A plant that grows upon a rock.
marine	A plant that grows in the sea.
semiaquatic	A plant that grows partially submerged in water or spends part of its life growing in water.
terrestrial	A plant that grows on land, and generally referencing a plant that grows in soil.

See the AusTraits Plant Dictionary (https://w3id.org/APD/traits/trait_0030015) for additional information about this trait.

Coverage

For this trait, AusTraits includes a total of 3,893 records. This includes: