Perennial

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/perennial

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the botanical classification?Plants defined by a lifespan exceeding two years
2. What is the global abundance?Comprise approximately 94% of all known plant species
3. What is a perennial plant?A perennial plant is one that lives for more than two years and comes back each spring. It keeps growing year after year.
4. How do herbaceous perennials survive winter?They die back above ground, but their roots, bulbs, or tubers stay alive underground. When spring arrives, those parts sprout new growth.

Perennial: A plant with a life cycle extending over more than two years, often exhibiting repeated growth and flowering.
Herbaceous Perennial: A perennial plant whose stem and leaves die back at the end of the growing season, typically dying back to the ground.
Secondary Growth: The growth that increases the girth of stems and roots in woody plants, leading to the formation of wood and bark.
Subshrub: A plant with a partially woody base that survives winter, often with herbaceous stems that die back annually.