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Persistence is the retention of
File:20201210Larix decidua2.jpg, ''
Iowa State University Extension: Trees & Shrubs with Colorful (Persistent) Fruit in Fall and Winter
Plant physiology
Persistence is the retention of plant organ
In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a f ...
s after their normal function has been completed, in contrast with the shedding of deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
organs after their purpose has been fulfilled. Absence or presence of persistent plant organs can be a helpful clue in plant identification
In biology, determination is the process of matching a specimen of an organism to a known taxon, for example identifying a plant. The term is also used in cellular biology, where it means the act of the differentiation of stem cells becoming fixe ...
, and may be one of many types of anatomical details noted in the species descriptions or dichotomous keys
In phylogenetics, a single-access key (also called dichotomous key, sequential key, analytical key, or pathway key) is an identification key where the sequence and structure of identification steps is fixed by the author of the key. At each point i ...
of plant identification guides. Many species of woody plants
A woody plant is a plant that produces wood as its structural tissue and thus has a hard stem. In cold climates, woody plants further survive winter or dry season above ground, as opposite to herbaceous plants that die back to the ground until sp ...
with persistent fruit provide an important food source for birds and other wildlife in winter.
Species with persistent parts
There are numerousherbaceous
Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials.
Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous"
The fourth edition of t ...
and woody plant
A woody plant is a plant that produces wood as its structural tissue and thus has a hard stem. In cold climates, woody plants further survive winter or dry season above ground, as opposite to herbaceous plants that die back to the ground until sp ...
species that produce persistent parts, such as strobili
A strobilus (plural: strobili) is a structure present on many land plant species consisting of sporangia-bearing structures densely aggregated along a stem. Strobili are often called cones, but some botanists restrict the use of the term cone to th ...
(cones
A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex.
A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...
) or fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
. Note that the trait of persistence exhibited by a given species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
within a genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
may not be exhibited by all species within the genus. For example, the ''Equisetum
''Equisetum'' (; horsetail, snake grass, puzzlegrass) is the only living genus in Equisetaceae, a family of ferns, which reproduce by spores rather than seeds.
''Equisetum'' is a "living fossil", the only living genus of the entire subclass Eq ...
'' genus includes some species that have persistent strobili
A strobilus (plural: strobili) is a structure present on many land plant species consisting of sporangia-bearing structures densely aggregated along a stem. Strobili are often called cones, but some botanists restrict the use of the term cone to th ...
and others that have deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
strobili.
Persistent strobili
The following are examples of species with persistentstrobili
A strobilus (plural: strobili) is a structure present on many land plant species consisting of sporangia-bearing structures densely aggregated along a stem. Strobili are often called cones, but some botanists restrict the use of the term cone to th ...
(cones
A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex.
A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...
):
* ''Equisetum arvense
''Equisetum arvense'', the field horsetail or common horsetail, is an herbaceous perennial plant in the Equisetidae (horsetails) sub-class, native throughout the arctic and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It has separate sterile ...
'' (common horsetail)
* ''Larix occidentalis
The western larch (''Larix occidentalis'') is a species of larch native to the mountains of western North America (Pacific Northwest, Inland Northwest); in Canada in southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta, and in the United States ...
'' (western larch)
* ''Picea mariana
''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of the province of Newfoundland and Labra ...
'' (black spruce)
* ''Pinus banksiana
Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana'') is an eastern North American pine. Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, and the north-central and ...
'' (Jack pine)
Persistent fruit
The following are examples of species with persistentfruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
:
* ''Aronia arbutifolia
''Aronia arbutifolia'', called the red chokeberry, is a North American species of shrubs in the rose family. It is native to eastern Canada and to the eastern and central United States, from eastern Texas to Nova Scotia inland to Ontario, Ohio, Ke ...
'' (red chokeberry)
* ''Berberis thunbergii
''Berberis thunbergii'', the Japanese barberry, Thunberg's barberry, or red barberry, is a species of flowering plant in the barberry family Berberidaceae, native to Japan and eastern Asia, though widely naturalized in China and North America, w ...
'' (Japanese barberry)
* ''Cornus florida
''Cornus florida'', the flowering dogwood, is a species of flowering tree in the family Cornaceae native to eastern North America and northern Mexico. An endemic population once spanned from southernmost coastal Maine south to northern Florida ...
'' (flowering dogwood)
* '' Cotoneaster apiculatus'' (cranberry cotoneaster)
* '' Crataegus phaenopyrum'' (Washington hawthorn)
* ''Malus sargentii
''Malus sargentii'', the Sargent crabapple or Sargent's apple, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Malus'' of the family Rosaceae. The species was formerly considered a variety of the species ''Malus sieboldii
''Malus sieboldii'', ...
'' (Sargent crabapple)
Image gallery
Larix decidua
''Larix decidua'', the European larch, is a species of larch native to the mountains of central Europe, in the Alps and Carpathian Mountains as well as the Pyrenees, with disjunct lowland populations in northern Poland and southern Lithuania. It ...
'' has persistent seed cones
A conifer cone (in formal botanical usage: strobilus, plural strobili) is a seed-bearing organ on gymnosperm plants. It is usually woody, ovoid to globular, including scales and bracts arranged around a central axis, especially in conifers an ...
.
File:Equisetum arvense kz01.jpg, ''Equisetum arvense
''Equisetum arvense'', the field horsetail or common horsetail, is an herbaceous perennial plant in the Equisetidae (horsetails) sub-class, native throughout the arctic and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It has separate sterile ...
'' has persistent strobili
A strobilus (plural: strobili) is a structure present on many land plant species consisting of sporangia-bearing structures densely aggregated along a stem. Strobili are often called cones, but some botanists restrict the use of the term cone to th ...
.
File:Cornus florida Cherokee Princess 10zz.jpg, This ''Cornus florida
''Cornus florida'', the flowering dogwood, is a species of flowering tree in the family Cornaceae native to eastern North America and northern Mexico. An endemic population once spanned from southernmost coastal Maine south to northern Florida ...
'' cultivar has persistent fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
into winter.
File:Pinus banksiana 2021 06 20 Kumpula 0352.jpg, Seed cones
A conifer cone (in formal botanical usage: strobilus, plural strobili) is a seed-bearing organ on gymnosperm plants. It is usually woody, ovoid to globular, including scales and bracts arranged around a central axis, especially in conifers an ...
of ''Pinus banksiana
Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana'') is an eastern North American pine. Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, and the north-central and ...
'' persist on branches long after seeds are released.
File:Berberis thunbergii berries.jpg, ''Berberis thunbergii
''Berberis thunbergii'', the Japanese barberry, Thunberg's barberry, or red barberry, is a species of flowering plant in the barberry family Berberidaceae, native to Japan and eastern Asia, though widely naturalized in China and North America, w ...
'' has persistent fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
.
File:Ruhland, Brauhausplatz, Zierapfel (Malus sargentii) in Gebüschpflanzung, Früchte am Zweig, Herbst, 01.jpg, ''Malus sargentii
''Malus sargentii'', the Sargent crabapple or Sargent's apple, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Malus'' of the family Rosaceae. The species was formerly considered a variety of the species ''Malus sieboldii
''Malus sieboldii'', ...
'' has persistent fruit.
File:Nova Scotia DSC 2601 (2300122122).jpg, Serotinous
Serotiny in botany simply means 'following' or 'later'.
In the case of serotinous flowers, it means flowers which grow following the growth of leaves, or even more simply, flowering later in the season than is customary with allied species. Havi ...
seed cones
A conifer cone (in formal botanical usage: strobilus, plural strobili) is a seed-bearing organ on gymnosperm plants. It is usually woody, ovoid to globular, including scales and bracts arranged around a central axis, especially in conifers an ...
of ''Picea mariana
''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of the province of Newfoundland and Labra ...
'' persist even after fire has caused the seeds to be released.
File:Red Chokeberry - Flickr - treegrow (1).jpg, Fruit of this ''Aronia arbutifolia
''Aronia arbutifolia'', called the red chokeberry, is a North American species of shrubs in the rose family. It is native to eastern Canada and to the eastern and central United States, from eastern Texas to Nova Scotia inland to Ontario, Ohio, Ke ...
'' cultivar persist through the winter and into early spring when new buds are emerging.
See also
*Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
* Semi-deciduous
Semi-deciduous or semi-evergreen is a botanical term which refers to plants that lose their foliage for a very short period, when old leaves fall off and new foliage growth is starting. This phenomenon occurs in tropical and sub-tropical woody spec ...
* Marcescence
Marcescence is the withering and persistence of plant organs that normally are shed, and is a term most commonly applied to plant leaves. The underlying physiological mechanism is that trees transfer water and sap from the roots to the leaves t ...
References
{{ReflistExternal links
Iowa State University Extension: Trees & Shrubs with Colorful (Persistent) Fruit in Fall and Winter
Plant physiology