woody+and+herbaceous+plants

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die at the end of the growing season on top of the soil. They have no sort of woody stem above ground. Herbaceous plants may be annuals, biennials or perennials. An Annual herbaceous plant is the only one which dies completely at the top of the growing season or when they have complety flowered and fruited, and they then grow again from seed. Perennial and biennial herbaceous plants are different, they have stems that die at the end of the growing season, but parts of the plant are able to survive under or close to the ground from season to season ( specifically for biennials, until the next growing season, when they flower and die). The new growth develops from living tissues remaining on or under the ground, including roots, a caudex (a thickened portion of the stem at ground level) or various types of underground stems, such as bulbs, corms, stolons, rhizomes and tubers. Herbaceous plants are usually known for their attractive flowers or foliage. The majority of herbaceous plants come from the temperate climatic regions of the southern and northern hemisphere, in the area between the polar and tropical regions which does make them very diverse. Herbaceous plants were able to cope with temperature changes associated with seasonal shifts. Herbaceous plants can also be grouped according to the origin. They can be classified into Alpine herbaceous plants and Mediterranean herbaceous plants. Alpine herbaceous plants come from mountainous regions and examples are houseleek, saxifrage and the low growing campanula. The Mediterranean herbaceous plants originate close to the Mediterranean Sea. Lavender, red valerian and Cupids darts all come from areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Both groups need to be protected from frost in the winter. Also, Woody herbs are herbaceous plants that do not have such thickened bark covering, but after time and development they are able develop hard stems with vascular bundles. They include such plants as Uraria picta and certain species in the family Polygonaceae. These herbs are not truly woody but have hard densely packed stem tissue for support. Other herbaceous plants have woody stems called a caudex, which is a thickened stem base often found in plants that grow in alpine or dry environments. There are hundreds of different types of herbaceous plants. Some are: Acanthus hungaricus, Acanthus mollis, Acanthus spinosus, Achillea Beacon, Achillea filipendula, Helleborus orientalis, Lamium Pink Pearls, Lathyrus latifolia Red Pearl, Lathyrus latifolius White Pearl, Malva alcea fastigiata, Malva moschata Alba, Malva moschata Rosea, Monarda didyma Panorama and many more.

A woody plant is a plant that uses wood as its structural tissue. These are plants whose stems and larger roots are reinforced with wood produced adjacent to the vascular tissues. The main stem, larger branches, and roots of these plants are usually covered by a layer of thickened bark for structural support. Woody plants are usually trees, shrubs, or lianas. Wood is a structural cellular adaptation that allows woody plants to grow from above ground stems year after year. For this reason, making some woody plants the largest and tallest plants. A plant with true woody stems contains wood, which is primarily composed of structures made of cellulose and lignin which also gives it its color. These structures provide support and a vascular system which these plants use to move water and nutrients from the roots to the leaves and to move sugars from the leaves to the rest of the plant which makes it all more efficient. Most of these plants form new layers of woody tissue each year, so they are able to increase their stem diameter year after year. New wood is deposited on both sides of a cambium layer that is present near the outer parts of the stem; under the bark of most plants. In some woody plants such as palms and dracaenas, the wood is formed in bundles. In palms, the wood is formed in the center of the stems. The dermal layer has been modified to protect the stems from the elements with a thickened covering of dead tissue, (which is called bark). Some of these plants at first can appear to be woody plants but die at the end of their season which would be herbaceous plants. Under specific conditions, woody plants will decay or over time may become petrified wood. Members of Rosaceae are generally woody plants, mostly shrubs or small to medium-size trees are found. Some of these plants have thorns, spines, or prickles to discourage herbivores, which gives it a sort of armor. At a certain stage in their life cycle, woody plants stop to grow in length and begin to add to their girth, or width. This is accomplished not by the addition of more primary tissue but by the growth of secondary vascular tissue around the entire circumference of the primary plant body. This fact helps them to receive more sunlight to be able to produce photosynthesis faster which gives it an advantage. Certain plants, including large woody plants and some herbaceous perennials, can remain physiologically active to some extent through dry periods. Plants use different strategies to do this: water storage organs, such as the succulent stems of cacti, euphorbias, and ice plants, hold water until it is needed; very deep root systems reach soil moisture at depth. These plants, which might be expected to shade the grasses and dominate the vegetation, are disadvantaged by the shortness of the growing season. Nevertheless, in the absence of heavy mammalian grazing and especially of regular fires, some trees and shrubs that grow greatly may become established. For this reason, the grasslands in such situations are maintained by these natural, or semi natural woody plants. In order to transport water and nutrients efficiently, woody plants developed a plumbing system. Under the bark is a layer of plant tissues that fulfills this function. This is actually the only part of the trunk that is actually alive. It is called the Cambial Layer. Inside the cambial layer, one kind of tissue transports liquids from the roots to the leaves. This is called the Xylem. Another liquid transports from the leaves to the roots and also laterally above ground. This is called the Phloem. As the plant grows it constantly renews both of these. Only the new xylem and phloem transport water and nutrients. The old xylem tissue becomes the wood and the old phloem tissue becomes the bark. The creation of new wood slows down due to the fact of the of the slow tissue creation in the winter. This can be seen in a Black Locust tree branch. Some examples of this type of plant are: Celastrus scandens -- American Bittersweet, Celtis occidentalis -- Common Hackberry, Cercidophyllum japonicum -- Katsuratree, Chamaecyparis pisifera -- Sawara or Japanese Falsecypress, Chionanthus virginicus -- White Fringetree, Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’ -- Peegee Hydrangea, Hydrangea paniculata -- Panicle Hydrangea, Ilex cornuta ‘Burfordii’ -- Chinese Holly, Ilex crenata -- Japanese Holly, Ilex opaca -- American Holly, Jasminum nudiflorum -- Winter Jasmine, Juglans nigra -- Black Walnut, and many more.