Ephemeroids are herbaceous perennial plants with a short period. Spring ephemeroids. Early flowering plants - ephemeroids - recipes from wild herbs and more. What are ephemeroids

Ephemeroids are herbaceous perennial plants with a short period.  Spring ephemeroids.  Early flowering plants - ephemeroids - recipes from wild herbs and more.  What are ephemeroids
Ephemeroids are herbaceous perennial plants with a short period. Spring ephemeroids. Early flowering plants - ephemeroids - recipes from wild herbs and more. What are ephemeroids

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 Annuals herbaceous plants , all 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) ... 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 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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Among the representatives flora There are plants whose full life cycle is completed in a few weeks (from 2 to 6) or months (5 to 6, sometimes more). Because of such a short growing season, they received the name ephemera(lat. ephemerae), which translated from ancient Greek means “for a day”, i.e. plants of one day. Sometimes in one season they manage to form several generations.

Ephemera are represented by annual herbaceous plants that live in various climatic zones ah, including deserts, steppes and forest-steppes, forests and tundra. Among them, the most common are: oak wood grain (lat. Draba nemorosa, cabbage family), (lat. Arabidopsis thaliana, Brassica family), sandy stag (lat. Ceratocarpus, family Chenopodiaceae), steppe alyssum (lat. Alýssum desertórum, cabbage family), etc.


The short life span of ephemerals is a feature associated with the conditions of their existence. Adapting to adverse climatic factors environment, they were forced to reduce all phases of their development, including seed germination, growth, development, flowering, fruiting and dying, in order to use the most suitable conditions for life. Like most plants, the life cycle of ephemerals is possible only in the warm season, in the presence of lighting and a sufficient amount of moisture in the soil.




In steppes and deserts, where a hot, arid climate prevails, ephemerals make up from 60% to 90% of the plant life living there. What is surprising is their ability to respond to various changes in environmental conditions. The period of existence of ephemerals depends entirely on precipitation in the autumn, winter and spring seasons. In summer, during high temperatures accompanied by prolonged drought, the plants die completely.




Desert Ephemera- these are low, usually not exceeding 10 - 12 cm in height, herbaceous plants with small, loose leaves and a weak, superficial root system. The period of their flowering occurs more often in spring (less often in autumn), and then the desert area is transformed by simultaneously opening multi-colored and bright colors. Retaining soil moisture, ephemeral plants cover the ground with a thick carpet, often using their leaves as a surface layer. protective layer from the drying rays of the sun. In a short period of time, while a sufficient amount of water remains in the soil for their life activity, ephemerals manage to completely go through their life cycle: bloom and leave seeds. The high drought and heat resistance of their seeds is another feature that allows new generations of ephemerals to survive in extreme conditions.




In contrast to the ephemerals of deserts, whose life ceases in summer, for ephemera of the tundra and other climatic zones with a harsh cold climate, summer is the only period possible for life. In permafrost conditions, ephemeral seeds begin to germinate only with the onset of a short summer, in thawed conditions. sun rays shallow layer of soil. Over the course of several weeks, accompanied warm weather, these plants go through all phases of the growing season, leaving their seeds in the soil for new life.


In addition to ephemerals, which are annual plants, some also have a short growing season. perennials, called ephemeroids. Unlike ephemerals, in ephemeroids during unfavorable periods only the above-ground part dies off, while the underground part (root, rhizome, bulb) is preserved. Characteristic for ephemeroids a long period dormancy, thanks to which plants manage to survive unfavorable conditions for life.




Like ephemerals, ephemeroids are represented by plants belonging to various families. Among them are: bulbous bluegrass (lat. Poa bulbosa, family Cereals), Schrenck's tulip (lat. Tulipa schrenkii, Liliaceae family) and Bieberstein tulip (lat. Tulipa biebersteiniana, Liliaceae family), early sedge (lat. Carex praecox, sedge family), sleep-grass (lat. Pulsatilla patens, Ranunculaceae family), deceptive onion (lat. Allium decipiens, family Onion), low iris (lat. Īris humīlis, Iris family), etc.


With the coming favorable conditions, the ephemeroids are activated, their dormant buds awaken, using starch and other nutrients stored in the underground part. Among the ephemeroids there are both spring-flowering plants, which make up the majority, and those plants whose flowering occurs in the fall.




A separate ecological group is formed by ephemerals that develop on the banks of water bodies, the so-called. floodplain ephemera. Throughout the year, rivers and lakes have periods of low and high water, which occur as a result of natural evaporation (hot, dry summers) or addition (melting snow, seasons of autumn or spring rainfall). Many ephemerals use the period of low water as possible conditions for life: their seeds germinate, and the plants manage to complete their life cycle before the onset of the rainy season, when part of the coast disappears again under water. Ripe seeds of floodplain ephemerals can remain under water for a long period until the water level drops again.



Ephemerals also include many weeds that cause harm agriculture. Although of all categories of these plants ephemeral weeds the least dangerous, under certain conditions they can cause significant damage to the future harvest of cultivated plants, clogging crops cereal crops, garden and household plots, fields with perennial grasses. Ephemeral weeds develop well in areas with sufficient moisture and in waterlogged areas. A striking example of this is a weed plant that is part of the group of ephemerals, chickweed or woodlice (lat. Stellaria, family Carnation).


Such weeds have exceptional resistance to unfavorable living conditions and easily adapt to extreme situations. Thanks to the short growing season their seeds ripen quickly and manage to fall to the soil surface even before the crops are harvested. The hard and durable shell of the seeds helps them survive the winter successfully, and when they fall into deep soil layers during autumn plowing, they are able to remain viable for several years. As a rule, ephemeral weeds, in addition to their rapid growth rates, are also characterized by a high level of seed production. To fight this group weeds was successful, it is necessary to carry out protective measures repeatedly, taking into account the periodicity of the emergence of new generations of weeds.

Also among ephemera and ephemeroids there are quite a lot rare plants, listed in the Red Book of Ukraine. These include: folded snowdrop (lat.Galanthus plicatus, Amaryllidaceae family),



oak tulip (lat.Tulipa biebersteiniana, Liliaceae family),



netted saffron (lat.Crocus reticulatus , Iris family),



Brandushka multi-colored (lat.Bulbocodium versicolor , family Bevremnikovy) etc.



The most a shining example The desert can help plants adapt to life. Here they grow side by side ephemeral plants, and cacti and . And each type of plant adapted to life in the desert in its own way. Ephemera- annual plants with a very short life cycle. Their life lasts only about a month in May.

Such plants ephemera, like poppy, cereals awaken in early spring and have time to bloom and produce seeds one month before the onset of heat. In the spring, bye upper layer The soil is well supplied with water; ephemerals actively absorb it from the soil, but also evaporate a lot.

The leaves of some ephemerals almost lie on the ground, covering it with themselves and preventing the sun from quickly drying it out. Like this in an unusual way ephemeral plants have adapted to life in the desert. By the end of the life cycle, ephemeral plants die off completely, even the roots. In one month of the growing season, they manage to leave behind only seeds to resume life in the next growing season.

But ephemeral plants can be found not only in the desert. Ephemera grow in conditions where growing conditions from spring to summer change sharply for the worse, associated with providing plants not only with water, but also with light. Therefore, even in deciduous forests middle zone In Russia, for example, in oak forests, where there is not enough light in the summer, ephemerals are also found.

In early spring, when most of the leaves on the trees have not yet blossomed, ephemerals quickly grow and have time to produce seeds. As the leaves bloom on the trees, the ephemerals gradually or quickly die off. Ephemera that can be found on the territory of Russia: oak grouse, desert alyssum, spring stonefly, northern breaker, African malcolmia, sickle-shaped hornwort.

In addition to ephemerals, annual plants, there are ephemeroid plants similar to them in nature - perennial plants that grow with the onset of unfavorable conditions. Usually in nature they grow side by side, and having learned the differences between annual and perennial plants, you can accurately determine which plant it is: ephemeral or ephemeral.

Ephemeroids

Ephemeroids- perennial herbaceous plants with a very short growing season, which occurs at the very favorable period. After this, the life cycle of ephemeral plants begins to stop, and the aboveground part of the plants begins to gradually die off. Due to nutrients, accumulated in the underground part of the ephemeroids, their life resumes when favorable conditions occur.

Ephemeroids include tuberous, rhizomatous and bulbous. Representatives of ephemeroids are the well-known snowdrops, lumbago (sleep-grass), scillas, scyllas, tulips, spring-flowering crocuses, daffodils, muscari, chionodoxes, ranunculus, corydalis, hazel grouse, and also such houseplants, like , clivia.

In early spring ephemeroids, sprouts and buds of renewal buds are still formed under the snow. During flowering ephemeroids form a bright and colorful carpet of flowers that are clearly visible to pollinating insects. After the fruits have ripened and the seeds have dropped, in early June, with a change in conditions (little water or light), the aboveground organs of the ephemeroids die off. Underground organs with renewal buds and starch reserves are in a state of deep dormancy for about ten months until next spring.

Representatives of autumn ephemeroids are, or colchicum. They bloom in late autumn, when the leaves from the trees have already fallen off and do not block the light. For an active life, ephemeroids only need a short daylight time in the forest.

All ephemeroids are conditionally divided into groups:

The first group includes ephemeroids, in which the buds of growth and renewal are located above the soil level;

The second group includes ephemeroids, in which the buds of growth and renewal are at soil level and are covered with snow in winter;

The third group includes ephemeroids, in which the buds of growth and renewal are located very deep in the soil. Even with insufficient snow cover and partial freezing of the root part, ephemeroids from this group are quickly restored. Almost all spring bulbous plants belong to this group of ephemeroids.

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 regularly need these elements 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 many 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 time they manage to produce seeds, but they themselves die 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, 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 serves crocus. Spring ones 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 have 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. Him 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. Boiled it was once eaten, 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, in 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. Snowdrop or “milk flower” is common in Southern and Central Europe, Asia Minor, and 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.

Ephemeroids are perennial herbaceous plants, which, like ephemerals, are characterized by a very short 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 - perennial plants 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 is the lush development of plants such as bluegrass and sedge in some areas of Central Asia in early spring, when moisture and temperature conditions are favorable for their life. In aspect, such communities at this time resemble meadows. But as soon as a drought with a high temperature sets in, all that remains of the ephemerals are the seeds that have managed to fall to the surface of the soil, while the ephemeroids retain only underground organs that remain dormant 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 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 in the grass cover of a group of early flowering 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 the 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, synusias of summer-autumn shrubs (wormwood, hodgepodge), early spring ephemerals and ephemeroids are distinguished.[...]

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 climate aridity 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 feature 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. Different species usually require different driving factors, 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, in the steppes the dominant life form of plants is hemicryptophytes (perennial grasses) - 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 feathery feather grasses, 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 and seasonal dynamics life cycles, affects the duration of development, fertility and their 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. These annual plants are called ephemerals (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 individual species and the community as a whole on the environment, community productivity. 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 - in 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 violet flowers. Some species of dnasotis 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.