Botany One - Habit & Major Systems

A Beginner’s Guide to Botanical Terminology (Pt 1).

Botany and biological description are a bit more exacting than Latin nomenclature. Often there is only the correct, Latin-based name for a particular part of a plant, or animal. Some of these terms, like petal for instance are in common usage and familiar to all, many more are known by gardeners. Even as a gardener you may not need to trouble with the finer details but if you get interested in breeding plants or citizen science and recording the plants around you, you will need to tackle some of this to work with identification keys. An understanding or even a passing familiarity with Botanical Latin can also be advantageous as the depth of your exploration grows. For a head start with the Latin you could try our Botanical Latin Lexicon.

This page is intended to offer a starting point in to how and why plants do what they do. The framework for Botanical Descriptions has been used as starting point for items included and I hope that relating observable plant features and processes to the correct Biological terms makes this fascinating subject a little more accessible.

Section Links.

Habit

Major Systems

Habit

→ Lifespans

→ Dimentions

→ Forms

Plant Lifespans

• Annual – Plants that complete their seed-to-seed life cycle within one year / growing season.
• Biennial – Plants that complete their seed-to seed life cycle over two years / growing cycles.
• Perennial – Plants that complete their seed-to seed life cycle over a number of years / growing cycles.

In horticulture other terms are combined with these to give greater detail.
• Hardy Annuals – can withstand a degree of cold or frost, usually at both ends of the growing season.
• Half Hardy Annuals – can withstand a degree of cold or possibly frost, but usually only at the later end of their lives.
• Biennials – are Hardy by definition as they overwinter …unless you grow ones from a warmer climatic zone.
• Tender Perennials – Typically these are Hardy where they grow naturally, but Tender by varying degrees where they are grown ornamentally.
• Short-lived Perennials – are either like that naturally, or due to being grown outside their natural geographic range. Short lived is around three to five years.
• Woody Perennials – have a single (tree) or multiple (shrub) lignified permanent above ground stems that persist when the plant is dormant.
• Herbaceous Perennials – sometimes termed “Herbs” are the opposite of woody ones and all top growth dies back to around ground level in the dormant season.

Plant Dimensions

Plant dimensions are usually presented as “Height x Width + Years to maturity”, with a range being given for all components. If single numbers are given this will be for an average plant in suitable growing conditions.

Plant General shapes and forms

Plants have an astounding range of shapes and forms. This arises from many factors including the external, geographic location, climate, and growing conditions as well as the internal genetics affecting growth patterns and the ecological niche occupied. The main general shapes are illustrated below. Other descriptors include creeping, climbing, twining, scrambling, erect, which are self-explanatory.

Major Plant Systems

Land plants comprise two main connected systems, below ground is the Root System and above ground is the Shoot System. Shoot systems comprise of the Stems, Leaves and reproductive parts (Inflorescence, Flower, Fruit and Seed).

Back to Description, Classification & Botany

Top

Botany Two – Roots→

Further Resources

Most of the main search engines will give you a result if you are looking for the meaning of a particular botanical word. If you wish to explore the subject in more detail here are a few website links to give you a starting point.