plant life

/plænt laɪf/

/plɑnt laɪf/

Other forms: plant lives

Definitions of plant life

1. noun

   (botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion
   synonyms: flora, plant

   types:

   phytoplankton

   photosynthetic or plant constituent of plankton; mainly unicellular algae

   microflora

   microscopic plants; bacteria are often considered to be microflora

   crop

   a cultivated plant that is grown commercially on a large scale

   endemic

   a plant that is native to a certain limited area

   holophyte

   an organism that produces its own food by photosynthesis

   non-flowering plant

   a plant that does not bear flowers

   plantlet

   a young plant or a small plant

   wilding

   a wild uncultivated plant (especially a wild apple or crabapple tree)

   ornamental

   any plant grown for its beauty or ornamental value

   pot plant

   a plant suitable for growing in a flowerpot (especially indoors)

   acrogen

   any flowerless plant such as a fern (pteridophyte) or moss (bryophyte) in which growth occurs only at the tip of the main stem

   apomict

   a plant that reproduces or is reproduced by apomixis

   aquatic

   a plant that lives in or on water

   cryptogam

   formerly recognized taxonomic group including all flowerless and seedless plants that reproduce by means of spores: ferns, mosses, algae, fungi

   annual

   (botany) a plant that completes its entire life cycle within the space of a year

   biennial

   (botany) a plant having a life cycle that normally takes two seasons from germination to death to complete; flowering biennials usually bloom and fruit in the second season

   perennial

   (botany) a plant lasting for three seasons or more

   escape

   a plant originally cultivated but now growing wild

   hygrophyte

   a plant that grows in a moist habitat

   neophyte

   a plant that is found in an area where it had not been recorded previously

   embryo

   (botany) a minute rudimentary plant contained within a seed or an archegonium

   monocarp, monocarpic plant, monocarpous plant

   a plant that bears fruit once and dies

   sporophyte

   the spore-producing individual or phase in the life cycle of a plant having alternation of generations

   gametophyte

   the gamete-bearing individual or phase in the life cycle of a plant having alternation of generations

   houseplant

   any of a variety of plants grown indoors for decorative purposes

   garden plant

   any of a variety of plants usually grown especially in a flower or herb garden

   tracheophyte, vascular plant

   green plant having a vascular system: ferns, gymnosperms, angiosperms

   poisonous plant

   a plant that when touched or ingested in sufficient quantity can be harmful or fatal to an organism

   aerophyte, air plant, epiphyte, epiphytic plant

   a plant that derives moisture and nutrients from the air and rain; usually grows on another plant but not parasitic on it

   rock plant

   plant that grows on or among rocks or is suitable for a rock garden

   autophyte, autophytic plant, autotroph, autotrophic organism, producer

   plant capable of synthesizing its own food from simple organic substances

   myrmecophyte

   plant that affords shelter or food to ants that live in symbiotic relations with it

   planktonic algae

   unicellular algae

   diatom

   microscopic unicellular marine or freshwater colonial alga having cell walls impregnated with silica

   thallophyte

   any of a group of cryptogamic organisms consisting principally of a thallus and thus showing no differentiation into stem and root and leaf

   nonflowering plant, pteridophyte

   plants having vascular tissue and reproducing by spores

   phanerogam, seed plant, spermatophyte

   plant that reproduces by means of seeds not spores

   wild flower, wildflower

   wild or uncultivated flowering plant

   megagametophyte

   the female gametophyte produced by the megaspore of a plant that produces both microspore and megaspores

   microgametophyte

   the male gametophyte produced by a microspore

   aconite

   any of various usually poisonous plants of the genus Aconitum having tuberous roots and palmately lobed leaves and blue or white flowers

   baneberry, cohosh, herb Christopher

   a plant of the genus Actaea having acrid poisonous berries

   hellebore

   any plant of the Eurasian genus Helleborus

   dogbane

   any of several poisonous perennial plants of the genus Apocynum having acrid milky juice and bell-shaped white or pink flowers and a very bitter root

   Nerium oleander, oleander, rose bay

   an ornamental but poisonous flowering shrub having narrow evergreen leaves and clusters of fragrant white to pink or red flowers: native to East Indies but widely cultivated in warm regions

   Aglaonema modestum, Chinese evergreen, Japanese leaf

   erect or partially climbing herb having large green or variegated leaves

   anthurium, tail-flower, tailflower

   any of various tropical American plants cultivated for their showy foliage and flowers

   Rivina humilis, blood berry, bloodberry, rouge plant, rougeberry

   bushy houseplant having white to pale pink flowers followed by racemes of scarlet berries; tropical Americas

   Gynura aurantiaca, purple velvet plant, royal velvet plant, velvet plant

   Javanese foliage plant grown for their handsome velvety leaves with violet-purple hairs

   flowering maple

   an ornamental plant of the genus Abutilon having leaves that resemble maple leaves

   herb, herbaceous plant

   a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests

   Exacum affine, Persian violet

   perennial cultivated especially as a houseplant for its fragrant bluish to dark lavender flowers

   Clusia insignis, waxflower

   epiphytic clusia of British Guiana

   halophyte

   plant growing naturally in very salty soil

   Gloriosa superba, climbing lily, creeping lily, gloriosa, glory lily

   any plant of the genus Gloriosa of tropical Africa and Asia; a perennial herb climbing by means of tendrils at leaf tips having showy yellow to red or purple flowers; all parts are poisonous

   Spanish moss, Tillandsia usneoides, black moss, long moss, old man's beard

   dense festoons of greenish-grey hairlike flexuous strands anchored to tree trunks and branches by sparse wiry roots; southeastern United States and West Indies to South America

   Symphoricarpos alba, common snowberry, snowberry, waxberry

   deciduous shrub of western North America having spikes of pink flowers followed by round white berries

   American holly, Christmas holly

   an evergreen tree

   Rhus vernix, Toxicodendron vernix, poison ash, poison dogwood, poison sumac

   smooth American swamp shrub with pinnate leaves and greenish flowers followed by greenish white berries; yields an irritating oil

   Rhus radicans, Toxicodendron radicans, markweed, poison ivy, poison mercury, poison oak

   climbing plant common in eastern and central United States with ternate leaves and greenish flowers followed by white berries; yields an irritating oil that causes a rash on contact

   Rhus diversiloba, Toxicodendron diversilobum, western poison oak

   poisonous shrub of the Pacific coast of North America that causes a rash on contact

   Rhus quercifolia, Rhus toxicodenedron, Toxicodendron quercifolium, eastern poison oak

   poisonous shrub of southeastern United States causing a rash on contact

   Chinese lacquer tree, Japanese lacquer tree, Japanese sumac, Japanese varnish tree, Rhus verniciflua, Toxicodendron vernicifluum, lacquer tree, varnish tree

   small Asiatic tree yielding a toxic exudate from which lacquer is obtained

   aeschynanthus

   a plant of the genus Aeschynanthus having somewhat red or orange flowers and seeds having distinctive hairs at base and apex

   episcia

   any plant of the genus Episcia; usually creeping and stoloniferous and of cascading habit; grown for their colorful foliage and flowers

   gloxinia

   any of several plants of the genera Gloxinia or Sinningia (greenhouse gloxinias) having showy bell-shaped flowers

   kohleria

   shrubby herb cultivated for their soft velvety foliage and showy scarlet flowers

   plectranthus

   any of various ornamental plants of the genus Plectranthus

   lantana

   a flowering shrub

   Aethusa cynapium, fool's parsley, lesser hemlock

   European weed naturalized in America that resembles parsley but causes nausea and poisoning when eaten

   Cicuta verosa, water hemlock

   tall erect highly poisonous Eurasiatic perennial herb locally abundant in marshy areas

   spotted cowbane, spotted hemlock, spotted water hemlock

   tall biennial water hemlock of northeastern North America having purple-spotted stems and clusters of extremely poisonous tuberous roots resembling small sweet potatoes

   California fern, Conium maculatum, Nebraska fern, hemlock, poison hemlock, poison parsley, winter fern

   large branching biennial herb native to Eurasia and Africa and adventive in North America having large fernlike leaves and white flowers; usually found in damp habitats; all parts extremely poisonous

   Eryngium yuccifolium, button snakeroot, rattlesnake master, rattlesnake's master

   coarse prickly perennial eryngo of United States thought to cure rattlesnake bite

   Oenanthe crocata, hemlock water dropwort, water dropwort

   European poisonous herb having tuberous roots, yellow juice that stains the skin, yellow flowers and foliage resembling celery; all parts extremely poisonous

   Oenanthe aquatica, water fennel

   European poisonous herb with fibrous roots

   bedder, bedding plant

   an ornamental plant suitable for planting in a flowerbed

   succulent

   a plant adapted to arid conditions and characterized by fleshy water-storing tissues that act as water reservoirs

   cultivar

   a variety of a plant developed from a natural species and maintained under cultivation

   cultivated plant

   plants that are grown for their produce

   weed

   any plant that crowds out cultivated plants

   cash crop

   a readily salable crop that is grown and gathered for the market (as vegetables or cotton or tobacco)

   catch crop

   a crop that grows quickly (e.g. lettuce) and can be planted between two regular crops grown in successive seasons or between two rows of crops in the same season

   cover crop

   crop planted to prevent soil erosion and provide green manure

   field crop

   a crop (other than fruits or vegetables) that is grown for agricultural purposes

   evergreen, evergreen plant

   a plant having foliage that persists and remains green throughout the year

   deciduous plant

   a plant having foliage that is shed annually at the end of the growing season

   vine

   a plant with a weak stem that derives support from climbing, twining, or creeping along a surface

   creeper

   any plant (as ivy or periwinkle) that grows by creeping

   ligneous plant, woody plant

   a plant having hard lignified tissues or woody parts especially stems

   geophyte

   a perennial plant that propagates by underground bulbs or tubers or corms

   desert plant, xerophile, xerophilous plant, xerophyte, xerophytic plant

   plant adapted for life with a limited supply of water; compare hydrophyte and mesophyte

   mesophyte, mesophytic plant

   land plant growing in surroundings having an average supply of water; compare xerophyte and hydrophyte

   aquatic plant, hydrophyte, hydrophytic plant, water plant

   a plant that grows partly or wholly in water whether rooted in the mud, as a lotus, or floating without anchorage, as the water hyacinth

   hemiepiphyte, semiepiphyte

   a plant that is an epiphyte for part of its life

   strangler, strangler tree

   an epiphytic vine or tree whose aerial roots extend down the trunk of a supporting tree and coalesce around it eventually strangling the tree

   lithophyte, lithophytic plant

   plant that grows on rocks or stony soil and derives nourishment from the atmosphere

   rupestral plant, rupestrine plant, rupicolous plant, saxicolous plant

   plants growing among rocks

   root crop

   crop grown for its enlarged roots: e.g. beets; potatoes; turnips

   tuberous plant

   plant growing from a tuber

   bulbous plant

   plant growing from a bulb

   cormous plant

   plant growing from a corm

   psilophyte

   any plant of the order Psilophytales: a savannah plant

   psilophyton

   any plant or fossil of the genus Psilophyton

   type of:

   being, organism

   a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently