Brief Characterization of Plant Physiognomy by Climate

Desert

• Very distinctive
• Tubby succulents and spiky liliaceous herbs
• Shrubs and trees with tiny compound or simple leaves
• Either sclerophyllous evergreens or non-sclerophyllous deciduous or semi-deciduous
• Most trees are legumes
• Many or most plants of all growth forms are spiny
• No sharp distinctions between deciduous and evergreen, and no “fall color” in deciduous species
• Woody plants widely spaced
• Bare ground bursts into ankle-high color after rare rains
• Ephemeral annuals support ephemeral flush of pollinators, and their abundant seeds support ants, rodents, birds etc. all year.

Tropics (wet)

• Byword is “anything goes” with regard to plant forms
• From palms with leaves 60 ft. long to epiphytic Rhipsalis cacti that look like tangles of green spaghetti hanging in a tree
• The only environment with many epiphytes other than moss and lichens
• The only environment with plants with large evergreen leaves
• Trees mostly evergreen but can be deciduous in dry season etc.
• No “fall color” in deciduous species
• Something in flower or fruit etc. any time of year, each species according to its own seasonal schedule
• No annual “wildflower” displays, and generally no unshaded ground in any case
• Multi-layer growth, from ground level to giant “emergent” trees towering above the canopy
• Most life going on at and above canopy level

Mediterranean—

Humid Temperate—

Arctic—

Montane—