Part 2: Botanical terminology
5. Growth habits
Growth habit = characteristic shape, size and branch pattern of a plant
The habit of a species can vary depending on environmental conditions such as water, nutrient and light availability, exposure of the site or length of growing season, but different species still have distinctive shapes. Click the headings below to see some examples.
Erect plants grow upwards
Ascending plants spread horizontally at first before becoming erect
Virgate plants grown upwards with wand-shaped, almost parallel, branches.
Suckering plants spread by pushing up new shoots around the permitter of their original base.
Prostrate plants spread their branches along the ground for most of their length, with their tips turning upwards.
Stoloniferous plants produce runners which travel above the surface of the soil and produce plantlets, like strawberries and creeping buttercup.
Rhizomatous plants produce runners which travel under the surface of the soil and then rise to the surface, producing plantlets, like asparagus and ground elder.
Look up on the internet an example of pictures of plants with the following growth habits:
- Erect
- Ascending