Plant life-form
Plant life-form schemes constitute a way of classifying plants alternatively to the ordinary species-genus-family
While taxonomic classification is concerned with the production of natural classifications (being natural understood either in philosophical basis for
Life-form and growth-form are essentially synonymous concepts, despite attempts to restrict the meaning of growth-form to types differing in shoot architecture.
A popular life-form scheme is the Raunkiær system.
History
One of the earliest attempts to classify the life-forms of plants and animals was made by
Some earlier authors (e.g.,
The term life-form was first coined by Warming ("livsform") in his 1895 book Plantesamfund,[8] but was translated to "growthform" in the 1909 English version Oecology of Plants.
Warming developed his life-form scheme further in his "On the life forms in the vegetable kingdom".
Following Warming's line of emphasizing functional characters,
Christen C. Raunkiær's classification (1904) recognized life-forms (first called "biological types") on the basis of plant adaptation to survive the unfavorable season, be it cold or dry, that is the position of buds with respect to the soil surface.[13] In subsequent works, he showed the correspondence between gross climate and the relative abundance of his life-forms.[14][15][16]
G.E. Du Rietz (1931) reviewed the previous life-form schemes in 1931 and strongly criticized the attempt to include "epharmonic" characters, i.e., those that can change in response to the environment (see phenotypic plasticity).[1] He tabulated six parallel ways of life-form classification:[17]
- 1. Main life-forms ("Grundformen"): based upon the general plant physiognomy (e.g., Theophrastus, 350 BC, Humboldt, 1806;
- 2. Growth-forms sensu stricto: based upon the shoot architecture;
- 3. Periodicity life-forms: based upon the seasonal physiognomic variation;
- 4. Bud height life-forms: based upon the height above (or below) the ground-level of the uppermost buds perduring the most unfavourable seasons (e.g., Raunkiær, 1904);
- 5. Bud-type life-forms: based upon the structure of the buds perduring the most unfavourable seasons;
- 6. Leaf life-forms: based on the character (form, size, duration, structure, etc.) of the leaves (e.g., Raunkiær, 1916).
Later authors have combined these or other types of unidimensional life-form schemes into more complex schemes, in which life-forms are defined as combinations of states of several characters. Examples are the schemes proposed by Pierre Dansereau[18] and Stephan Halloy.[19] These schemes approach the concept of plant functional type, which has recently replaced life-form in a narrow sense.
Classification systems
Following, some relevant schemes.
Theophrastus (c. 350 BC)
Based on
Humboldt (1806–1808)
Humboldt described 19 (originally 16) Hauptformen, named mostly after some characteristic genus or family:[20]
- die Palmen
- die Bananenform
- die Malvenform
- die Form der Mimosen
- die Heidekräuter
- die Cactusform
- die Orchideen
- die Form der Casuarinen
- die Nadelhölzer
- die Pothosgewächse (Arumform)
- die Lianen
- die Aloegewächse
- die Grasform
- die Farenkräuter
- die Liliengewächse
- die Weidenform
- die Myrtengewächse
- die Melastomenform
- die Lorbeerform
De Candolle (1818)
Based upon the duration of life and the height of the ligneous stem:[21]
- 1. Planta monocarpica
- 2. Planta monocarpica annua
- 3. Planta monocarpica biennis
- 4. Planta monocarpica perennis
- 5. Planta rhizocarpica
- 6. Planta caulocarpica
- 7. Planta caulocarpica suffrutex
- 8. Planta caulocarpica frutex
- 9. Planta caulocarpica arbuscula
- 10. Planta caulocarpica arbor
Raunkiær (1904–1907) plant life-forms
Based on the place of the plant's growth-point (bud) during seasons with adverse conditions (cold seasons, dry seasons):
- Phanerophytes
- Chamaephytes
- Hemicryptophytes
- Cryptophyte
- Geophytes
- Helophytes
- Hydrophytes
- Therophytes (annual plants)
- Aerophytes
- Epiphytes
Warming (1909)
- I. Heterotrophic plants (holosaprophytes and holoparasites).
- II. Aquatic plants.
- Ill. Muscoid plants (bryophytes, and perhaps Hymenophyllaceae).
- IV. Lichenoid plants (lichens, and perhaps some vascular plants like Tillandsia nsneoides).
- V. Lianoid plants.
- VI. The rest of the autonomous terrestrial plants.
- A. Hapaxanthic (or monocarpic) herbs.
- 1. Aestival annual plants.
- 2. Hibernal annual plants.
- 3. Biennial-perennial (dicyclic, pleiocyclic) herbs.
- B. Pollacanthic (polycarpic) plants.
- 1. Renascent (redivivus) herbs (multicipital rhizomes, mat-geophytes, and rhizome-geophytes, each of them with several subordinate groups).
- 2. Rosette-plants (besides the ordinary rosette-herbs and rosette-grasses also the Musa-form and the tuft-trees).
- 3. Creeping plants.
- 4. Land-plants with long erect long-lived shoots (cushion-plants, under-shrubs, soft-stemmed plants, succulent-stemmed plants, woody plants with long-lived, lignified stems, the last group divided into canopy-trees, shrubs, a dwarf-shrubs).[22]
- A. Hapaxanthic (or monocarpic) herbs.
Clements (1920)
Vegetation-forms:[23]
- I. 1. Annuals.
- II. 2. Biennials.
- III. Herbaceous perennials.
- 3. Sod-grasses.
- 4. Bunch-grasses.
- 5. Bush-herbs.
- 6. Cushion-herbs.
- 7. Mat-herbs.
- 8. Rosette-herbs.
- 9. Carpet-herbs.
- 10. Succulents.
- IV. Woody perennials.
- 11. Halfshrubs.
- 12. Bushes.
- 13. Succulents.
- 14. Shrubs.
- 15. Trees.
Rübel (1930)
- Magniligniden
- Parviligniden
- Semiligniden
- Sukkulenten
- Epiphyten
- Lianen
- Herbiden
- Saxiden
- Errantiden[24]
Du Rietz (1931)
Main life-forms ("Grundformen") system:[25]
- A. Woody plants or Holoxyles ("ligneous plants", "lignose" of many earlier authors, "Ligniden" Du Rietz 1921, "Xyloids" Warming 1923).
- I. Trees.
- II. Shrubs.
- III. Dwarf-shrubs.
- IV. Woody cushion-plants.
- V. Woody lianas.
- B. Half-shrubs, or Hemixyles (semi-woody plants, "Semiligniden" Rübel 1930).
- I. Tall half-shrubs.
- II. Dwarf half-shrubs.
- C. Herbaceous plants ("Herbiden" Du Rietz 1921).
- I. Chtonophytic, non-lianoid.
- II. Epiphytoidic.
- III. Parasitic on trunks or branches of trees, shrubs, or dwarf-shrubs.
- IV. Herbaceous lianes.
Growth-form system:
- a. Main stem-types in flowering-plants.[26]
- A. Geocorms.
- I. Plagiogeocorms.
- II. Orthooeocorms.
- B. Aërocorms.
- I. Herbaceous aërocorms.
- II. Ligneous aerocorrns.
- A. Geocorms.
- b. Growth-forms on the basis of stem-types and stem-type combinations.[27]
- A. Holoxyles
- I. Trees.
- II. Shrubs.
- III. Dwarf-shrubs.
- IV. Woody Cushion-plants.
- B. Hemixyles.
- I. True Half-shrubs (suffrutices).
- II. Cane Half-shrubs (virgulta).
- A. Holoxyles
Ellenberg & Mueller-Dombois (1967)
Main groups of plant life forms:[28]
- Aa Autotrophic plants
- Ba Kormophytes (= vascular plants)
- Ca Self-supporting plants
- Da Woody plants, or herbaceous evergreen perennials
- Phanerophytes
- Chamaephytes
- Db Perennial (including biennial) herbaceous plants with periodic shoot reduction
- Hemicryptophytes
- Geophytes (Cryptophytes)
- Dc Annuals
- Therophytes
- Da Woody plants, or herbaceous evergreen perennials
- Cb Plants that grow by supporting themselves on others
- Ea Plants that root in the ground
- Lianas (Eu-lianas)
- Hemi-epiphytes (Pseudo-lianas)
- Eb Plants that germinate and root on other plants (these include dead standing plants, telegraph poles and wires, stumps and such like)
- Epiphytes
- Ea Plants that root in the ground
- Cc Free-moving water plants (= errants)
- Errant vascular Hydrophytes
- Ca Self-supporting plants
- Bb Thallophytes (= non-vascular cryptogams)
- Fa Plants attached to the ground surface
- Ga Perennials
- Thallo-chamaephytes
- Thallo-hemicryptophytes
- Gb Annuals
- Thallo-therophytes
- Ga Perennials
- Fb Fb Plants attached to others
- Thallo-epiphytes
- Fc Free-moving autotrophic thallophytes (= errants)
- Ha Photosynthesizers
- Errant thallo-hydrophytes
- Kryophytes
- Edaphophytes
- Hb Chemosynthesizers
- Chemo-edaphophytes
- Ha Photosynthesizers
- Fa Plants attached to the ground surface
- Ba Kormophytes (= vascular plants)
- Ab Semi-autotrophic plants
- Ia Kormophytes
- Vascular Semi-parasites
- Ib Thallophytes
- Thallo-semi-parasites
- Ia Kormophytes
- Ac Heterotrophic plants
- Ka Kormophytes
- Vascular Parasites
- Vascular Saprophytes
- Kb Thallophytes
- Thallo-parasites
- Thallo-saprophytes
- Ka Kormophytes
Other categorizations
Following, other morphological, ecological, physiological or economic categorizations of plants. According to the general appearance (habit):
- Woody plants
- Trees
- Shrubs
- Lianas
- Herbaceous plants
- Other: palm-like plants[29] (see Glossary of plant morphology#Plant habit)
According to leaf hardness, size and orientation in relation to sunlight:
- Sclerophyll leaves
- Orthophyll or hyptiophyll leaves
According to the habitat:
- Terrestrial plants
- Aquatic (macrophytes)
- Aerial plants (epiphytes)
- Lithophytes
According to the water content of the environment:
- Aquatic plants (hydrophytes)
- Marsh plants (helophytes)
- Moisture plants (hygrophytes)
- Drought plants (xerophytes)
- Mesophytes
- Phreatophytes
According to latitude (in vegetation classification):
According to climate (in vegetation classification):
- Pluvial (ombrophilous)
- Seasonal
- Drought
- Cloud forest
- Rainforest
According to altitude (in vegetation classification):
- Montane
- Submontane
- Lowland
According to the loss of leaves (in vegetation classification):
- Deciduous (caducifolious)
- Semi-deciduous (semicaducifolious)
- Evergreen (perennifolious)
According to the luminosity of the environment:[citation needed]
- Heliophytes
- Sciophytes (embryophytes)
According to the mode of nutrition:
- Parasite plants
- Hemiparasites
- Carnivorous plants
- Mycotrophs
According to soil factors:
- Metallophytes
- Halophytes
- Glycophytes[citation needed]
According to the capacity to avoid dehydration:
According to short-term fluctuations in water balance:
- Hydrolabile plants
- Hydrostable plants
According to the range of drought/humidity tolerance:
- Stenohydric plants
- Euryhydric plants
According to longevity:
- Annual plants
- Biennial plants
- Perennial plants
According to the type of photosynthesis:
- C3 plants
- C4 plants
- CAM plants
- Exotic plants
- Native plants
- Naturalised or subspontaneous plants
According to
- Endemic plants
- Cosmopolitan plants
- Disjunct plants
According to invasiveness:
- Invasive plant
- Noninvasive plant
According to establishment time in an ecological succession:
- ruderal plants
- Climax plants
According to human cultivation:
- Domesticated plants
- Cultigens
- Wild plants
According to importance to humans (see ethnobotany):
- Edible plants
- Medicinal plants
- Ornamental plants
- Timber trees
- Indicator plants
- Weeds
- Poisonous plants
See also
- Succulent plants
References
- ^ a b Du Rietz, G. E. (1931) Life-forms of terrestrial flowering plants. I. Acta Phytogeographica Suecica 3 (1): 95 pp.
- ^ Raven, J.A. (1986) Evolution of plant life forms. Pages 421-492 in T.J. Givnish (ed.) On the economy of plant form and function. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. [1]
- ^ Niklas, K.J. 2008. Life Forms, Plants. In: Jørgensen SV (ed.). Encyclopedia of ecology. Amsterdam: Elsevier, p. 2160–2167, [2].
- E.C. Otté and Henry G. Bohn (1850). London: H.G. Bohn, [4].
- ISBN 0-405-10403-0
- ^ Grisebach, A. (1872) Die Vegetation der Erde nach ihrer klimatischen Anordnung. Engelmann, Leipzig.
- De Candolle, A.P.(1818) Regni vegetabilis systema naturale, Vol. 1. Paris.
- ^ Warming, E.(1895) Plantesamfund - Grundtræk af den økologiske Plantegeografi. P.G. Philipsens Forlag, Kjøbenhavn; Chapter 2 "Livsform (Vegetationsform)" p. 3-6.
- ^ a b Warming, E. (1909) Oecology of Plants - an introduction to the study of plant-communities, translated by P. Groom and I. B. Balfour. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 422 pp.
- ^ Warming, E. (1908) Om planterigets livsformer [translated title: On the life forms in the vegetable kingdom]. G.E.C. Gad, København.
- Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes SelskabsSkrifter - Naturvidenskabelig og Mathematisk Afdeling, 8. Rk., vol. 4: 120-187.
- ISBN 0-405-10417-0
- ^ Raunkiær, C. (1904) Om biologiske Typer, med Hensyn til Planternes Tilpasninger til at overleve ugunstige Aarstider. Botanisk Tidsskrift 26, p. XIV. Also as Ch. 1: Biological types with reference to the adaption of plants to survive the unfavourable season, in: The Life Forms of Plants and Statistical Plant Geography. Oxford University Press, Oxford; p. 1.
- ^ Raunkiær, C. (1911) Det arktiske og antarktiske Chamæfyteklima. In: Biologiske Arbejder tilegnede Eug. Warming paa hans 70 Aars Fødselsdag den 3. Nov. 1911. Kjøbenhavn.Also as Ch. 7 in Raunkiær (1934): The Arctic and Antarctic chamaephyte climate, p. 283-302.
- ^ Raunkiær, C. (1914) Sur la végétation des alluvions méditerranéennes françaises. Mindeskrift i Anledning af Hundredeaaret for Japetus Steenstrups Fødsel (eds H.F. E. Jungersen & E. Warming), pp. 1-33. København. Also as Ch. 9 in Raunkiær (1934): On the vegetation of the French mediterranean alluvia, p. 343-367.
- Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, 1 (4), 1-17.Also as Ch. 12 in Raunkiær (1934): On the biological normal spectrum, p. 425-434
- ^ Du Rietz (1931), p. 44.
- ^ Dansereau, P. (1951) Description and recording of vegetation upon a structural basis. Ecology 32 (2): 172-229.
- ^ Halloy, S. 1990. A morphological classification of plants, with special reference to the New Zealand alpine flora. Journal of Vegetation Science 1 (3): 291-304.
- ^ a b Du Rietz (1931), p. 1.
- ^ Du Rietz (1931), p. 2.
- ^ Du Rietz (1931), p. 15.
- ^ Du Rietz (1931), p. 29.
- ^ Du Rietz (1931), p. 40-41.
- ^ Du Rietz (1931), p. 45-47.
- ^ Du Rietz (1931), p. 47-52.
- ^ Du Rietz (1931), p. 52-83.
- ^ Ellenberg. H. & D. Mueller-Dombios (1967). A key to Raunkiaer plant life-forms with revised subdivisions. Ber. Goebot. Inst. ETH. Stiftg Rubel. Zurich. 37:56-73, [5].
- ^ "Habit". The Biota of North America Program North American Vascular Flora.
- ^ Alien plants in checklists and floras: towards better communication between taxonomists and ecologists. Pyšek et al.
- ^ Alienígenas na sala: o que fazer com espécies exóticas em trabalhos de taxonomia, florística e fitossociologia? Archived 2013-10-14 at the Wayback Machine Moro, M. F. et al.
External links
- Media related to Plant life-form at Wikimedia Commons
- Pillar, V.D. & L. Orlóci. 2004. Character-Based Community Analysis: The Theory and an Application Program. Electronic Edition available at http://ecoqua.ecologia.ufrgs.br. 213 p., [6].