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, a ...

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 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 s ...

with persistent fruit provide an important food source for birds and other wildlife in winter.

Species with persistent parts

There are numerous

herbaceous 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 ...

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 s ...

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 co ...

) 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 partic ...

. Note that the trait of persistence exhibited by a given

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...

within a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

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 ...

'' genus includes some species that have persistent

and others that have

strobili.

Persistent strobili

The following are examples of species with persistent

(

): * ''

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 steril ...

'' (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 Stat ...

'' (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 La ...

'' (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 n ...

'' (Jack pine)

Persistent fruit

The following are examples of species with persistent

: * '' Aronia arbutifolia'' (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, ...

'' (Japanese barberry) * '' Cornus 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

File:20201210Larix decidua2.jpg, ''

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. File:Equisetum arvense kz01.jpg, ''

'' has persistent

. File:Cornus florida Cherokee Princess 10zz.jpg, This '' Cornus florida'' cultivar has persistent

into winter. File:Pinus banksiana 2021 06 20 Kumpula 0352.jpg, Seed cones of ''

'' persist on branches long after seeds are released. File:Berberis thunbergii berries.jpg, ''

'' has persistent

. File:Ruhland, Brauhausplatz, Zierapfel (Malus sargentii) in Gebüschpflanzung, Früchte am Zweig, Herbst, 01.jpg, ''

'' 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 of ''

'' persist even after fire has caused the seeds to be released. File:Red Chokeberry - Flickr - treegrow (1).jpg, Fruit of this '' Aronia arbutifolia'' cultivar persist through the winter and into early spring when new buds are emerging.

References

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External links