Habit (biology)

This article is about "habit" and "habitus" in biology. For usage in sociology, see Habitus (sociology).
This cultivar of Japanese maple has a dome-like habit.

Habit, equivalent to habitus in some applications in biology, refers variously to aspects of behaviour or structure, as follows:

  • In zoology (particularly in ethology), habit usually refers to aspects of more or less predictable behaviour, instinctive or otherwise, though it also has broader application. Habitus refers to the characteristic form or morphology of a species.
  • In botany, the plant habit is the characteristic form in which a given species of plant grows.[1]
  1. ^ Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. London, 4th ed 1928