Monocarpic plants are those that flower and set seeds only once, and then die .
8-480: Isoglossa woodii , commonly known as buckweed , is a monocarpic shrub of the family Acanthaceae , growing up to 4 m tall. It grows in colonies in coastal forest areas of KwaZulu-Natal and marginally into Eastern Cape and Free State of South Africa . The stem is often multi branched and sparsely hairy, with lower stems becoming woody. The leaves are between 75 mm and 120 mm long, and are soft and often droop during dry conditions. The leaves have
16-440: A velvety texture due to fine, dense hairs on the surface. These plants have a life cycle of about 7 to 10 years, after which they flower en masse and then die off. The flowers are produced in inflorescences and individual flowers are whitish in colour and about 8 mm in length. These plants form dense colonies in the understorey of forests where they provide food and shelter to many animals. Blue duiker and bushbuck feed on
24-448: Is derived from Greek ( mono , "single" + karpos , "fruit" or "grain"), and was first used by Alphonse de Candolle . Other terms with the same meaning are hapaxanth and semelparous . The antonym is polycarpic , a plant that flowers and sets seeds many times during its lifetime; the antonym of semelparous is iteroparous . Plants which flower en masse (gregariously) before dying are known as plietesials . The term hapaxanth
32-422: Is most often in conjunction with describing some of the taxa of Arecaceae (palms) and some species of bamboo , but rarely used otherwise; its antonym is pleonanth . This was first used by Alexander Braun . Monocarpic plants are not necessarily annuals , because some monocarpic plants can live a number of years before they will flower. In some monocarpic plants, flowering signals senescence , while in others
40-723: The case of some bamboos even over 100 years to bloom and then die. Hawaiian silverswords and their relatives in the genus Wilkesia may take 10–50 years before flowering. Monocot plant families that include monocarpic species include Agavaceae , Araceae , Arecaceae , Bromeliaceae , Musaceae , and Poaceae . Dicot plant families that include monocarpic species include Acanthaceae , Apocynaceae , Asteraceae , and Fabaceae . Few dicot shrubs with multiple branching and secondary growth species have been described. Those that have include Strobilanthes species, Cerberiopsis candelabrum , Tachigali versicolor and other Tachigali species. Some monocarpic plants can be kept alive if
48-501: The leaves and shoots. The flowers attract many species of insects, and honey is said to be plentiful in years when these plants flower. Buckweed is excluded from areas of forest with dense tree cover and in turn plays a role in limiting forest regeneration as the tree seedling community beneath Isoglossa woodii shows reduced density and species richness from areas where I. woodii is absent. Butterfly larvae of Protogoniomorpha parhassus and Celaenorrhinus mokeezi are known to feed on
56-429: The leaves of Isoglossa . This plant was named after John Medley Wood (hence woodii ). The common name of buckweed is a reference to these plants being abundant and being browsed by forest antelopes. John Medley Wood noted that "This plant does not flower every year; it is commonly believed to flower once in seven years only; this year, 1888, it has produced flowers in great abundance". Monocarpic The term
64-453: The production of fruits and seeds causes changes within the plants which lead to death. These changes are induced by chemicals that act as hormones , redirecting the resources of the plants from the roots and leaves to the production of fruits and or seeds. The century plant in the genus Agave , some terrestrial bromeliads of the genus Puya , Tillandsia utriculata , some yuccas , and many bamboos can take 8 to 20 years or in
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