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 .
15-398: See text Momordica is a genus of about 60 species of annual or perennial climbers herbaceous or rarely small shrubs belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae , natives of tropical and subtropical Africa and Asia and Australia . Most species produce floral oils and are visited by specialist pollinators in the apid tribe Ctenoplectrini . A molecular phylogeny that includes all species
30-518: A 'bitter, cold' herb, and has recently been brought into mainstream Chinese medicine as well as natural medical traditions around the world. Recent research has shown that the immature fruit might have some antibiotic, anticancer, and antiviral properties, particularly well suited for use in treatment of malaria, HIV, and diabetic conditions. The use of Momordica fruit is contraindicated in a number of conditions, especially pregnancy. The effect of Momordica charantia on glucose and insulin concentrations
45-405: A woody stem, allowing plants to grow tall and transport water and nutrients over longer distances within the plant body. Since most woody plants are perennials with a longer life cycle because it takes more time and more resources (nutrients and water) to produce persistently living lignified woody stems, they are not as able to colonize open and dry ground as rapidly as herbs. The surface of herbs
60-475: Is ephemeral and often seasonal in duration. By contrast, non-herbaceous vascular plants are woody plants that have stems above ground that remain alive, even during any dormant season, and grow shoots the next year from the above-ground parts – these include trees , shrubs , vines and woody bamboos . Banana plants are also regarded as herbaceous plants because the stem does not contain true woody tissue. Some herbaceous plants can grow rather large, such as
75-400: Is a catalyst for dew, which in arid climates and seasons is the main type of precipitation and is necessary for the survival of vegetation, i.e. in arid areas, herbaceous plants are a generator of precipitation and the basis of an ecosystem. Most of the water vapor that turns into dew comes from the air, not the soil or clouds. The taller the herb ( surface area is the main factor though),
90-521: Is available (Schaefer and Renner, 2010). Some Momordica species are grown in cultivation for their fleshy fruit , which are oblong to cylindrical in shape, orange to red in colour, prickly or warted externally, and in some species burst when ripe, generally with elastic force, into irregular valves. Momordica can be cultivated in 5 litre vases or jardinière and is hardly susceptible to plagues. After seeding, Momordica develops leaves in about 11 days and flowers after 40 to 50 days. After fertilisation,
105-607: The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines "herb" as: The same dictionary defines "herbaceous" as: Botanical sources differ from each other on the definition of "herb". For instance, the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation includes the condition "when persisting over more than one growing season, the parts of the shoot dying back seasonally". Some orchids, such as species of Phalaenopsis , are described in some sources (including
120-675: The Momordica fruit will be developed in about 10 days. A species of wild bitter melon is used in Ayurveda the ancient medicine system of India to treat diabetes. The green leaf juice in water is consumed daily. This wild melon is relatively small in size compared to cultivated bitter melon. Momordica charantia ( bitter melon , Mandarin Chinese : kǔ guā 苦瓜) is native to Africa but has been used in Chinese folk medicine for centuries as
135-404: The analysis of annual growth rings in the secondary root xylem . Herbaceous plants do not produce perennializing above-ground structures using lignin , which is a complex phenolic polymer deposited in the secondary cell wall of all vascular plants. The development of lignin during vascular plant evolution provided mechanical strength, rigidity, and hydrophobicity to secondary cell walls creating
150-928: The authoritative Plants of the World Online ) as "herbs" but with "leaves persistent or sometimes deciduous". In the glossary of Flora of the Sydney Region , Roger Charles Carolin defines "herb" as a "plant that does not produce a woody stem", and the adjective "herbaceous" as meaning "herb-like, referring to parts of the plant that are green and soft in texture". Herbaceous plants include graminoids , forbs , and ferns . Forbs are generally defined as herbaceous broad-leafed plants, while graminoids are plants with grass-like appearance including true grasses , sedges, and rushes. Herbaceous plants most often are low-growing plants, different from woody plants like trees and shrubs , tending to have soft green stems that lack lignification and their above-ground growth
165-840: The end of the growing season, but parts of the plant survive under or close to the ground from season to season (for biennials, until the next growing season, when they grow and flower again, then die). New growth can also develop 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 . Examples of herbaceous biennials include carrot , parsnip and common ragwort ; herbaceous perennials include potato , peony , hosta , mint , most ferns and most grasses . Cornelis Eliza Bertus Bremekamp Cornelis Eliza Bertus Bremekamp (7 February 1888 in Dordrecht – 21 December 1984)
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#1732771808334180-609: The genus Musa , to which the banana belongs. Some relatively fast-growing herbaceous plants (especially annuals) are pioneers , or early-successional species. Others form the main vegetation of many stable habitats, occurring for example in the ground layer of forests , or in naturally open habitats such as meadow , salt marsh or desert . Some habitats, like grasslands and prairies and savannas , are dominated by herbaceous plants along with aquatic environments like ponds , streams and lakes . The age of some herbaceous perennial plants can be determined by herbchronology ,
195-517: The more dew it produces, so a short cut of the herbs necessitates watering. For example, if you frequently and shortly cut the grass without watering in an arid zone, then desertification occurs. Most herbaceous plants have a perennial (85%) life cycle but some are annual (15%) or biennial (<1%). Annual plants die completely at the end of the growing season or when they have flowered and fruited, and then new plants grow from seed. Herbaceous perennial and biennial plants may have stems that die at
210-697: Was a Dutch botanist . He received his education at the University of Utrecht , and performed as a botanical researcher in Indonesia and South Africa . In South Africa he collaborated with German botanist Herold Georg Wilhelm Johannes Schweickerdt (1903–1977). From 1924 to 1931 he was a professor at Transvaal University in Pretoria , where he conducted studies of the genus Pavetta . During this time period he collected plants from northern Transvaal , Rhodesia , and Mozambique . A portion of his career
225-2032: Was studied in nine non-insulin-dependent diabetics and six non-diabetic rats. These results show that it might improve glucose tolerance in diabetes but much more research is needed. Doctors supervising Asian diabetics should be aware of the fruit's hypoglycemic properties. Momordica angolensis R.Fernandes Momordica angustisepala Harms Momordica anigosantha Hook.f. Momordica balsamina L. Momordica boivinii Baill. Momordica cabrae (Cogn.) C.Jeffrey Momordica calantha Gilg Momordica camerounensis Keraudren Momordica charantia L. - Bitter melon Momordica cissoides Planch. ex Benth. Momordica clarkeana King Momordica cochinchinensis (Lour.) Spreng. - Gac Momordica corymbifera Hook.f. Momordica cymbalaria Hook.f. Momordica denticulata Miq. Momordica denudata C.B.Clarke Momordica dioica Roxb. ex Willd. Momordica enneaphylla Cogn. Momordica foetida Schumach. Momordica glabra Zimmerman Momordica henriquesii Cogn. Momordica involucrata E.Mey. Momordica jeffreyana Keraudren Momordica laotica Gagnep. Momordica leiocarpa Gilg Momordica littorea Thulin Momordica macrophylla Gage Momordica mannii Hook.f. Momordica mossambica H.Schaef. Momordica multiflora Hook.f. Momordica obtusisepala Keraudren Momordica parvifolia Cogn. Momordica peteri A.Zimm. Momordica pterocarpa Hochst. Momordica repens Bremek. Momordica rostrata A.Zimm. Momordica sessilifolia Cogn. Momordica silvatica Jongkind. Momordica spinosa Chiov. Momordica suringarii Cogn. Momordica trifoliolata Hook.f. Momordica welwitschii Hook.f. List sources Herbaceous The fourth edition of
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