Ephemeroids are examples of plants. Why are desert ephemerals and ephemeroids combined with meadow and forest plants into one ecological group? See what “Ephemerals” are in other dictionaries

Ephemeroids - perennial herbaceous plants, which, like ephemera, are characterized by very short period growing season.[...]

EPHEMEROIDS [from gr. ephemeros - one-day, short-lived and eidos - species] - perennial (as opposed to ephemerals) herbaceous plants with a short (2-8 months) period of autumn-winter-spring growing season (tulip, sedge inflated, bulbous bluegrass, anemone, scilla).[ ...]

Ephemeroids (from the Greek - one-day and form, type) are perennial herbaceous plants, which are characterized by autumn-spring vegetation. In summer, above-ground shoots die off completely, leaving only underground storage organs with buds (bulbs, tubers, rhizomes). They are especially characteristic of arid regions, where they rest during periods of drought (bluegrass, tulip, sedge, scilla, etc.), but are also found in forest-steppes and deciduous forests.[...]

EPHEMEROIDS - perennials with a very short growing season. They spend most of the year in a dormant state. A typical example of E. is the well-known snowdrops in our forests.[...]

Ephemera and ephemeroids predominate where from spring to summer there is a sharp change in growing conditions associated with the provision of plants with water or light. An example would be the lush development in early spring plants such as bluegrass and sedge in some areas of Central Asia, when moisture and temperature conditions are favorable for their life. In aspect, such communities at this time resemble meadows. But as soon as drought sets in high temperature, from ephemerals only seeds remain that have managed to crumble to the surface of the soil, and in ephemeroids only underground organs are preserved, remaining in a state of rest until the onset of favorable conditions for their growing season. What previously resembled a meadow takes on the appearance of a desert.[...]

Early spring ephemeroids, the so-called “snowdrops”, heating the leaves provides the possibility of fairly intense photosynthesis in sunny, but still cold spring days. For cold habitats or habitats associated with seasonal temperature fluctuations, an increase in plant temperature is ecologically very important, since physiological processes thereby become, to a certain extent, independent of the surrounding thermal background. [...]

In spring, ephemerals and ephemeroids develop widely, which predominate in the grass stand in sandy deserts. The most common shrubs here are juzgun, cherkes, sand acacia, white saxaul, etc. In clayey gypsum deserts, wormwood, boyalych, tamarix, etc. predominate, and the soil surface is often covered with algae and lichens. The latter form the basis of vegetation in the clay takyr desert areas. In general, the vegetation cover is very sparse.[...]

On sandy deserts, the grass stand is dominated by ephemerals and ephemeroids. The most widespread are sandy sedge (Carex phusodes), bulbous bluegrass (Poa bulbosa var. vivipara), annual brome (Bromus tectorum, etc.), from the bulbous family - goose onion (Gagea reticulata); umbrella (Ferula foltida), etc. [...]

This perennial herbaceous plant develops a dense basal rosette leaves, among which the outer ones are spring, soft, thin and narrow, almost linear, quickly die off, and the inner ones are summer, fleshy, almost succulent, wide, rounded-spear-shaped, initially smaller than the spring leaves, continue the growing season for quite a long time .[...]

One of the most characteristic features oak forests in general and complex oak forests in particular is the presence of a group of early flowering plants in the grass cover herbaceous species- oak forest ephemeroids. These include a significant group of bulbous and corm plants that bloom in oak forests before the oak unfolds its leaves: scillas, corydalis, anemones, gossamer and toothworts. In early spring, these plants form decorative flower carpets in oak forests.[...]

Brown semi-desert loamy soils are dominated by wormwood, fescue-wormwood, wormwood-biyurgun and biyurgun-kokpek associations with a significant admixture of ephemerals and ephemeroids.[...]

In the zone it is very thinned out. Projective coverage does not exceed 30-40% (in some places 20-30%). The soils were formed under fescue-wormwood associations with an admixture of ephemerals and ephemeroids. When the grass stand is thinned, lichens and blue-green algae develop on the soil surface.[...]

In the central part of the zone (in the subzone of chestnut soils) wormwood-fescue steppes predominate, and in the southern part (in the subzone of light chestnut soils) - fescue-wormwood steppes, with a significant admixture of ephemerals and ephemeroids (poa bulbous, tulips, irises, etc. .). On chestnut solonetzic soils in the grass stand there are different kinds wormwood (white, black, Austrian), as well as chamomile, prutnyak and kermek. Lichens and algae appear on the surface.[...]

Synusia of annual plants and lichens, and partly ephemeroids, are absent or very weakly expressed. Subshrubs are almost completely absent.[...]

The seasonal dynamics of desert phytocenoses is clearly expressed. Phenological changes in communities are easily observed visually, expressed in changes in aspects: from bright yellow and lilac flowering in spring, to pale naked indifference in summer and autumn.[...]

It is characterized by a certain species composition and the ecological and biological unity of its species. In the wormwood-hodgepodge desert, there are synusias of summer-autumn shrubs (wormwood, hodgepodge), early spring ephemera and ephemeroids.[...]

Chernozems were formed under herbaceous vegetation, which was dominated by perennial grasses. Currently, most of the black soil steppes are plowed and natural vegetation is destroyed. In the composition of natural vegetation, from north to south, forbs decrease and the content of spring ephemerals and ephemeroids increases.[...]

The vegetation cover is characterized by the dominance of wormwood-feather grass steppes. Among the turfgrasses, Stipa sareptana, St. lessingiana, Festuca valesiaca. The obligatory co-dominants are semi-shrub desert-steppe wormwood (Artemisia gracilescens). Artemisia pauciflora, Art. are common on solonetzes. schrenkiana. Here they play a more active role than in the dry steppes. spring plants, ephemeroids and ephemera.[...]

The vegetation of gray soils is defined as subtropical steppes, or low-grass semi-savannas (L. E. Rodin). This vegetation arose during the process of increasing aridity of the climate since the Pliocene in connection with the uplift of the mountain systems of the Middle and Central Asia. Its composition is dominated by cereals, with giant umbelliferous plants (ferula) being very typical. During the period of spring moisture, ephemerals and ephemeroids grow rapidly - bluegrass, tulips, poppies, etc. According to the change of the wet and short-term spring phase to the dry and long summer phase, the vegetation changes sharply. In spring, bright and lush, but short-term associations of ephemerals are characteristic, in summer - associations of xerophytes that are stable throughout the hot period.[...]

In evergreen plants, in addition to restoring turgor (if it has been lost), very good sign The beginning of the growing season should be considered the clearly marked acquisition of wild rosemary, lingonberry leaves and juniper, pine, and spruce needles of a dark color typical for summer. In forests, the beginning of spring weeping in birch and maple is the first sign of the beginning of the growing season. The same informative sign is the unfolding of the first leaves of spring ephemeroids.[ ...]

The importance of individual environmental factors in the complex action of the environment is unequal. Therefore, among the latter, the leading (main) ones are distinguished environmental factors and secondary (related). The leading factors are those that are necessary for the life of the body. For different types Usually different driving factors are required, even if the organisms live in the same place. At the same time, it should be noted that in different periods During the development of the organism, there is a change in leading factors, which is especially typical for plants. So, for example, for ephemeroids during the flowering period the leading factor is light, and during the period of seed formation - sufficient moisture and minerals.[ ...]

According to R. Whittaker, the dominant life form of plants in the steppes is hemicryptophytes ( perennial herbs) - 63% of the total flora; followed by therophytes (annual grasses) - 14%, chamephytes - 12%, etc. Phanerophytes (trees) make up 1% of total number plants. Plants steppe zone are characterized by the following ecological features: narrow-leaved xerophytic turf grasses (feather grass, fescue, bluegrass, fescue, etc.) are widespread, root systems which form branched bundles going to a considerable depth; the presence of ephemerals and ephemeroids (irises, cereals, forget-me-nots, buttercups, tulips, crocuses, etc.); There are also succulents.[...]

To the south, meadow steppes were characterized by forb-feather grass and fescue-feather grass associations. Xerophytic plants took a relatively greater part in their grass cover, the main background of which in the forb-feather grass steppes was narrow-leaved feather grass, fescue, thin-legged grass, steppe oats, drooping sage, Volga adonis, bluebells, sedge, steppe plantain, spurge, mountain clover, etc. In the type-chakovo-feather grass steppes, low-stemmed feather grass, tyrsa, fescue, wheatgrass, and sedges predominated. Moisture deficiency contributed to the development of ephemerals and ephemeroids in these steppes - mortuk, bulbous bluegrass, tulips, alyssum, wormwood with a degree of projective cover of 40-60%.[...]

One of the adaptations of plants to life in arid areas is a shortened life cycle. Among the parpolystaceae, there is a group of ephemerals - annual herbaceous plants that survive the dry period in the form of seeds, and after sufficient rainfall they germinate, quickly bloom, produce seeds and then die. They go through the entire development cycle in 5-8 weeks. In arid climates, perennial plants - ephemeroids - also strive to complete the growing season in the shortest possible time.[...]

Air humidity determines the frequency of active life of organisms, the seasonal dynamics of life cycles, and affects the duration of development, fertility and mortality. For example, plant species such as spring speedwell, sand forget-me-not, desert alyssum, etc., using spring moisture, manage to germinate in a very short time (12-30 days), develop generative shoots, bloom, form fruits and seeds. Data annual plants are called ephemera (from the Greek “ephemeres” - fleeting, one-day). Ephemera, in turn, are divided into spring and autumn. The above plants belong to spring ephemera. Certain species of perennial plants, called ephemeroids or geoephemeroids, also show clear adaptation to the seasonal rhythm of humidity. At unfavorable conditions humidity, they can delay their development until it becomes optimal or, like ephemerals, go through its entire cycle in an extremely short period of early spring. This includes typical plants of the southern steppes - steppe hyacinth, poultry plants, tulips, etc.[...]

Not only does the growing season change appearance communities, but also (more importantly) quantitative relationships between species, the impact of individual species and the community as a whole on the environment, and the productivity of the community. Depending on the composition of the plant community, the quantitative ratios of its components change more or less noticeably during the growing season. Changes in the quantitative ratio of plant species in herbaceous communities and herbaceous layers are especially large forest communities. In some of them, the dominant plants change during the growing season. This is especially noticeable in such communities, which include species with a short growing season, confined to spring: either annual - ephemerals, or perennial - ephemeroids.[...]

Melastomes can also be found on sea coasts, on coral reefs, and in mangrove swamps. Many plants of this family are found in arid conditions - on dry and sunny places, on salt marshes, in savannas, on rocks. Some species grow in volcanic craters, on old lava flows, and near hot springs. On the dry plateaus of the interior regions of Brazil, the campos are abundant in low, heavily pubescent, rigid-leaved shrubs or dwarf shrubs, often having an orycoid appearance, or herbs with small scale-like leaves, often imbricated on the stems. Among the plants of the African savannas, the species of the genus Dissotis, which numbers about 140 species in tropical and South Africa, are especially remarkable. They are mainly herbaceous plants, but also shrubs or shrubs, usually hairy, with purple or purple flowers. Some species of dnssotis are ephemerals, small annual plants that manage to go through the entire development cycle in the wet season before the onset of the dry season. Other species are ephemeroids. During the dry period, the above-ground organs of the ephemeroids completely die off, only the tubers or rhizomes equipped with buds remain alive.

Not everywhere the climate is conducive long flowering plants. In some regions it is so unsuitable that it lasts only a couple of months, or even weeks. In such places, ephemerals and ephemeroids often grow. We'll talk about them in more detail.

Ephemera - what are they?

Full usually takes a very long time. Only seeds can break through the ground for several months, not to mention further development. There are plants that live for a year or two, but oak and eucalyptus die after thousands of years.

There are species that simply don’t have that much time. These are ephemera. They are typically found in areas with harsh conditions where access to light or nutrients is severely limited for most of the year. To survive in such an environment you need to try. Some plants use thorns, others are small, and others have simply learned to do everything very quickly.

Ephemera are annual herbaceous plants. In one short season (from two weeks to two months) they manage to grow to the state of an adult plant, bloom, bear fruit and die. And the seeds that fell to the ground will germinate next year, completely repeating the experience of the “parents”.

Typical ephemera are African malcolmia, oak grouse, spring stonefly, some poppies, woodlice, Tal's rhizome, anthurus, etc. Most of them have small roots and unbranched stems. The leaves are small and not very dense, so that photosynthesis proceeds as intensely and quickly as possible.

Where do they meet?

Ephemera usually represent vegetation of deserts, semi-deserts and steppes. In such places the weather is favorable only for short periods. In deserts they occur during precipitation. Then rivers appear on lifeless lands, and their valleys are filled with flowers and herbs. As soon as the hot sun dries up the rivers, the plants will disappear.

Ephemera make up 80-90% of all vegetation in Africa. They are found on the Arabian Peninsula, in Kazakhstan, in the steppes of Ukraine, in Russia and many other countries of the world.

They do not always inhabit deserts and steppes. Selected species They are also common in deciduous forests, such as oak forests. Low-growing plants are not very comfortable in them due to the lack of sunlight. Ephemera usually appear here in the spring, when the trees have not yet acquired leaves. They develop intensively and complete their life cycle by the time lush crowns will block their access to the sun.

Ephemeroids

The vegetation of deserts and other places with difficult climates is also represented by ephemeroids. Unlike ephemerals, they live for several years and in unfavorable periods they only stop their growth.

Perennial ephemerals can be found growing side by side with ephemeral plants. In addition, they are widespread in meadows, mixed, coniferous and deciduous forests. Among the ephemeroids: scilla, kandyk, anemone, colchicum, tulips, crocuses, yellow goose onions, bulbous bluegrass.

They can grow stems and leaves slowly, but only bloom and bear fruit for a short time. growing season. Favorable conditions This usually occurs in early spring or autumn. After flowering, their above-ground organs die off, but tubers, bulbs or rhizomes remain underground, from which the above-ground parts will grow again next season.

Thal's rhizomet

This ephemera is also called cutting. With the exception of Antarctica, the plant is distributed on all continents. It is found in Canada and the USA, in the southern and central regions South America, in Northern and Southern Africa, throughout Eurasia and Australia.

The rhizome lives only six weeks and is capable of self-pollinating. Due to these properties, the plant is often used in laboratories for various studies, like fruit flies or rats. It was even grown on space stations and planned to grow on Mars and the Moon.

Oak groats

Like the rhizome, the kibble belongs to the cabbage family. It grows up to 20 centimeters. The leaves of the plant are oblong and located close to the ground. At the end of the long and straight stems there are small pale yellow flowers, collected in inflorescences.

Krupka blooms from April to June. Its seeds and stems are often used in folk medicine for cleansing the blood, kidneys, treating bronchitis and pleurisy. It grows in meadows and fields, on rocky and sandy slopes. Semolina is found in Ukraine, Belarus, Central Asia, Siberia, Far East and the European part of Russia.

Scilla

Scilla is often called the “blue snowdrop” due to the strong similarity of the plants. This is a typical ephemeroid that lives for several years. often blue, but may be white or yellow. It blooms for about two weeks in April, with some species appearing in the fall.

Scilla is found in Africa, Asia and Southern Europe, Crimea, and the south of the European part of Russia. The flower grows in mountainous areas or on shady, well-moistened plains. Despite the fact that his homeland is southern regions, it tolerates frost well.

Ephemera

Ephemera- an ecological group of herbaceous annual plants with a very short growing season (some complete their full development cycle in just a few weeks).

These are usually very small plants of deserts and semi-deserts or steppes. They develop intensively, bloom and bear fruit during the wet period (spring or autumn) and die off completely during the summer drought.

Some ephemeral plants found in Russia: Spring stonewort ( Erophila verna), Oak Krupka ( Draba nemorosa), Cornea crescent ( Ceratocephala falcata), Prolomnik northern ( Androsace septentrionalis), Malcolmia africanica ( Malcolmia africana), desert alyssum ( Alyssum desertorum).

There are also perennial plants similar to ephemerals - ephemeroids, in which only the above-ground part dies.

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See what “Ephemerals” are in other dictionaries:

- (from the Greek ephemeros one-day, transient), annual plants with a very short (2-6 months) life cycle, ending with the formation of seeds 3-4 weeks after the start of the growing season. Ephemera include, for example, some plants... ... Ecological dictionary

Annual herbaceous plants, all of whose development usually occurs in a very short term(several weeks), usually in early spring. Characteristic of steppes, semi-deserts and deserts (for example, dimorphic quinoa) ... Big encyclopedic Dictionary

- (ephemerae), annual herbaceous plants that complete a full development cycle in a very short and usually wet period (from 2 6 weeks to 5 6 months). Preims are developing. early spring (February May), using the time before the onset of drought. T.n. winter crops... ... Biological encyclopedic dictionary

Annual herbaceous plants, the entire development of which usually occurs in a very short time (several weeks), usually in early spring. Characteristic of steppes, semi-deserts and deserts (for example, dimorphic quinoa). * * * EPHEMERA EPHEMERA, annual... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (gr. ephemeras one-day, transient) annual plants with a very short growing season (for example, semolina, field violet); are especially common in deserts and semi-deserts cf. ephemeroids). New dictionary foreign words. by EdwART… Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

A group of annual herbaceous plants that complete a full development cycle in a very short period. These are plants of autumn-winter-spring growing season, lasting from 1.5-2 months (spinoflora aspinocarpta, dimorphic quinoa, etc.) to 6-8... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Annual herbaceous plants, all development of which usually occurs in a very short period of time (several weeks), usually in early spring. Characteristic of steppes, semi-deserts and deserts (for example, dimorphic quinoa) ... Natural science. encyclopedic Dictionary

ephemera- annual plants with a very short, usually spring, life cycle, e.g. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis) ... Anatomy and morphology of plants

EPHEMERA- (from the Greek ephemeras one-day, short-lived), annual plants with a very short development cycle (several weeks). They are confined to deserts, semi-deserts and dry steppes, where they grow during humid periods, which are also characterized by mild... ... Agricultural Encyclopedic Dictionary

EPHEMERA- annual plants with short, usually spring period development... Dictionary of botanical terms

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Man knows more than 300 thousand plant species. Some of them grow in unsuitable conditions. One of these plants are ephemeroids. To survive in a difficult environment, they had to use tricks and develop special devices. What are ephemeroids? You will find the definition and examples in our article.

What are ephemeroids?

Ephemeroids are perennial herbaceous plants, but this is not their peculiarity. They have learned to live where there is access to water or sunlight There is not all year round, but only in certain seasons. In such conditions, many plants die, because they need these elements regularly to maintain the body.

Ephemera are, in their own way, unique plants. They adapted to difficult conditions thanks to a short growing season. When there is enough light and water, they grow and bloom rapidly. With the onset of an unfavorable season, their ground parts dry out and fall off. The underground parts (tubers, rhizomes, bulbs) remain to grow new shoots next year.

Ephemeroids have very little time to develop. Sometimes plants only have a couple of weeks left. Their underground organs contain a lot nutrients. They accumulate there to nourish the plant during hibernation.

Ephemeral plants also have similar properties. But, unlike ephemeroids, these are annual plants. In a short growing season, they manage to produce seeds and then die off completely.

Where do they grow?

Ephemeroids are inhabitants of deserts, steppes and semi-deserts. There is always a lack of moisture there, and the hot sun literally burns out all living things. But in spring it often rains, and the light is soft and gentle. At such a time, poppies appear in the steppes, astragalus grow in rocky deserts, and tulips bloom on the sands of Turkmenistan.

From September to November, climatic spring begins in the Atacama Desert. There may be no precipitation there long years, therefore it is considered one of the driest places on Earth. But due to the influence of El Niño, some areas are sometimes irrigated by downpours, and lifeless spaces are covered with colorful flowers.

You can also find ephemeroids in ordinary forests. In dense deciduous forests there is enough moisture, but on the contrary, there is not enough light. Ephemeroids grow in oak forests and other groves. They appear when there is no foliage on the trees in order to make the most of solar energy.

Depending on the time of appearance, they are divided into spring and autumn ephemeroids. Example autumn plants the colchicum serves, autumn crocus. Spring flowers are: tulips, crocuses, snowdrops, goose onions.

Anemone

Anemone or anemone is an ephemeral plant from the ranunculaceae family. The flower is distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, even covering some areas of the Arctic. About 170 species of anemone are known, most of which are poisonous.

Anemones are neat large flowers with at least five petals. They come in yellow, red, white, blue and pink flowers. They usually grow in the tundra, on rocky hills and slopes, in steppe meadows and on shady forest edges.

Goose onion

It is also called yellow snowdrop, yellowflower, viper onion or gooseberry. In April, the plant appears on mountain slopes, steppes and forests. It has yellow flowers with elongated petals and tall narrow leaves.

The height of the goose onion is approximately 30-40 centimeters. It does not grow as single flowers, but in small groups. It was once eaten boiled and was also used to treat asthma, ulcers, and wound healing. Yellowflower is found in North Africa and in the temperate zone of Eurasia, for example, in Ukraine, the Far East and Central Asia.

Snowdrops

They are the ones who announce to us the arrival of spring, appearing even before the snow has completely melted. The snowdrop or “milk flower” is common in the South and Central Europe, in Asia Minor, on the Black Sea coast. About 16 of its species grow in the Caucasus.

Its flower consists of six petals, which are arranged in two circles. Unlike many other plants, it does not reach up towards the sun, but is lowered towards the ground. The snowdrop dies in May. The duration of its flowering depends on the area where it grows, as well as the altitude above sea level. Thanks to its unpretentiousness, the flower is often grown in garden beds. However, some of its species are listed in the Red Book and are considered endangered.

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