Ephemeral plant

Trillium grandiflorum in the foreground and the smaller Thalictrum thalictroides in the background are both spring ephemerals of North American deciduous forests

An ephemeral plant is a plant with a very short life cycle or very short period of active growth, often one that grows only during brief periods when conditions are favorable. Several types of ephemeral plants exist. The first, spring ephemeral, refers to plants that emerge quickly in the spring and die back to their underground parts after a short growth and reproduction phase. Desert ephemerals are plants which are adapted to take advantage of the short wet periods in arid climates. Mud-flat ephemerals take advantage of short periods of low water. In areas subjected to recurring human disturbance, such as plowing, weedy ephemerals are very short-lived plants whose entire life cycle takes less than a growing season. In each case, the species has a life cycle timed to exploit a short period when resources are freely available.[1] An evergreen plant could be considered the opposite of an ephemeral plant.

  1. ^ Keddy, P.A. 2007. Plants and Vegetation: Origins, Processes, Consequences. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 666 p. Chapter 3, Resources.