Today, the vast majority of plants that inhabit our planet produce flowers, and they can also do so several times throughout their lives. Are the calls polycarpic plants, and there are… all over the world, except in the driest and / or coldest regions.
But do we know what they are exactly? To learn more about this type of plant, we are going to explain everything you need to know about them.
Characteristics of polycarpic plants
Polycarpic plants are plants that belong to the kingdom of the Angiosperms. These types of plants differ from Gymnosperms above all in their way of multiplying: to do so, produce flowers with ordered whorls or spirals of sepals (they wrap the other pieces flowers), petals (they are the inner part of the perianth, they are sterile and serve to attract pollinators), stamens (male pollen-bearing organs) and carpels (modified leaves that protect female organs, such as the ovaries). What's more, protect the seed inside the fruit until it fully matures.
Some plants produce flowers throughout practically the whole year, as is the case with roses or the hydrangeas, but there are others that will only do so in some season, such as magnolias (spring), the tree Gold rain or Laburnum (spring), or the Lithops or living stones (autumn) for example.
Are there plants that flower only once in a lifetime?
A burning caryota
Although it is hard to believe, yes. There are many plants that only bloom once in their life, and I'm not just talking about annual. For example, there are several palm trees that grow for many years and, after 20, 30 or 40 years they produce an enormous amount of flowers that will give rise to many fruits with seeds. This type of plants they are known as monocarpic plants, and they are really very eye-catching.
Other examples are agave, semen, Or the Kalanchoe.
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