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Monocarpic

Monocarpic plants are defined as those that undergo a single reproductive cycle, flowering and producing seeds only once in their lifetime before the parent plant dies, a strategy also known as semelparity.^[1]^[2] This contrasts with polycarpic plants, which can reproduce multiple times over their lifespan.^[3] Monocarpic species encompass a range of growth forms, including annuals like maize (Zea mays), wheat (Triticum aestivum), and rice (Oryza sativa), which complete their entire life cycle in one growing season; biennials such as evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), which grow vegetatively in the first year and reproduce in the second before dying; and long-lived perennials like the century plant (Agave americana), certain bamboos (e.g., Bambusa species), and houseleeks (Sempervivum spp.), which may take years or decades to reach reproductive maturity.^[1]^[4]^[5]^[6] In monocarpic plants, post-reproductive senescence is genetically programmed and directly triggered by the physiological demands of flowering and seed production, often involving resource reallocation from vegetative growth to reproduction.^[1] The timing and size at flowering are critical for maximizing fitness, influenced by factors such as plant age, size thresholds, environmental cues, and mortality risks, with models showing that delayed reproduction can enhance survival in unpredictable habitats.^[1]^[7] This strategy is particularly adaptive in environments where a massive single investment in offspring reproduction outweighs the benefits of repeated, smaller efforts.^[2]

Definition and Terminology

Etymology

The term "monocarpic" derives from the Greek roots "mono-", meaning "one" or "single," and "karpos," meaning "fruit," thus referring to plants that bear fruit—and thereby reproduce—only once in their lifetime.^[8]^[9] This etymological construction emphasizes the singular reproductive event characteristic of such plants, distinguishing them from those capable of multiple fruitings.^[10] The term was first introduced in botanical literature during the mid-19th century, with the earliest recorded use appearing in 1849 in the work of Scottish botanist John Hutton Balfour, who employed it to describe perennials exhibiting a semelparous life history—namely, those that flower, fruit, and die after a single reproductive episode.^[10] This usage aligned with emerging understandings of plant reproductive strategies in perennial species, marking a shift toward precise terminology in descriptive botany.^[8] In broader biological contexts, "monocarpic" is synonymous with "semelparity," a term coined in 1954 by evolutionary biologist Lamont Cole from the Latin "semel" (once) and "pario" (to beget), denoting reproduction in a single event followed by death, in contrast to "iteroparity," derived from Latin "itero" (again) and "pario," which describes repeated reproductive bouts over multiple seasons. These related concepts highlight the continuum of life history strategies, with monocarpic plants exemplifying semelparity in botanical terms, while polycarpic plants align with iteroparity by producing fruit multiple times.^[11]

Botanical Classification

Monocarpic plants are those that complete sexual reproduction only once in their lifetime, typically by producing flowers, setting seed, and subsequently dying.^[12] This reproductive strategy encompasses a range of durations, from short-lived annuals and biennials that complete their cycle in one or two seasons, to long-lived perennials that may persist vegetatively for decades before reproducing. Although monocarpic plants share this reproductive pattern, they do not constitute a formal taxonomic group; instead, monocarpy represents a life history strategy distributed across numerous plant families. Prominent examples occur in the Poaceae, particularly among bamboos that exhibit synchronized, mass flowering events after extended vegetative periods, and in the Asparagaceae, including genera such as Agave and Yucca known for their rosette growth and dramatic inflorescences. This scattered occurrence underscores monocarpy's evolutionary convergence rather than phylogenetic clustering.^[13]^[14]^[15] Within monocarpic plants, subtypes can be distinguished based on developmental rigidity and environmental influences. Monocarpic perennials often follow a fixed trajectory, undergoing a prolonged multi-year vegetative phase before an obligate single reproductive event, as seen in many agaves and bamboos. In contrast, some biennials or short-lived perennials may accelerate or delay flowering in response to environmental triggers like temperature or resource availability, though they still reproduce only once.^[16]

Life History Strategy

Characteristics of Monocarpy

Monocarpic plants exhibit a distinct resource allocation strategy, channeling accumulated reserves from extended vegetative growth into one massive reproductive episode. During the vegetative phase, these plants prioritize biomass accumulation in roots, leaves, and storage organs, often delaying reproduction for years or decades to reach a critical size threshold. Upon flowering, nearly all available carbon and nutrients are redirected to inflorescence development, seed maturation, and fruit production, resulting in resource depletion that triggers whole-plant senescence and death. In the model monocarpic herb Arabidopsis thaliana, for example, seed production induces global proliferative arrest in shoot meristems, suppressing further maternal growth while promoting senescence-associated gene expression and chlorophyll degradation.^[17] This reproductive commitment is hormonally orchestrated, with ethylene and abscisic acid (ABA) serving as primary triggers for flowering induction and post-reproductive demise. Ethylene biosynthesis ramps up during the transition to reproduction, accelerating leaf yellowing, nutrient remobilization to seeds, and overall senescence; mutants insensitive to ethylene, such as etr1 and ein2, exhibit delayed aging in response. Concurrently, ABA accumulation promotes stomatal closure, oxidative stress responses, and the breakdown of cellular structures, amplifying the senescence program.^[18] Morphologically, monocarpic species often adopt compact rosette or clonal growth habits in their juvenile stages to optimize resource storage and survival under variable conditions. Rosette forms, common in herbs and succulents, concentrate leaves at ground level for efficient photosynthesis and protection, building a substantial taproot or bulb for reserves. Clonal propagation via rhizomes or offsets allows population persistence despite individual mortality. Reproductive culmination typically involves bolting into a tall, upright inflorescence—frequently unbranched and exceeding several meters in height—that elevates flowers for enhanced pollinator access and seed dispersal by wind, gravity, or animals. In giant rosette monocarpics like Rheum nobile, this structure supports thousands of flowers within protective bracts, ensuring prolific seed output before senescence.^[19]

Comparison with Polycarpy

Polycarpic plants, in contrast to monocarpic species, are capable of flowering and fruiting multiple times throughout their lifespan, typically as perennials that undergo repeated reproductive cycles across blooming seasons.^[20] This iteroparous strategy allows them to allocate resources to reproduction iteratively while maintaining vegetative growth for future events, often involving the preservation of some shoot apical meristems in a non-reproductive state.^[20] Key differences between monocarpic and polycarpic life histories lie in their reproductive investment and adaptation to environmental variability. Monocarpic plants channel resources into a single, high-yield reproductive event as a form of diversified bet-hedging, which is particularly advantageous in unstable or unpredictable environments where long-term survival is low, ensuring that a portion of offspring may succeed despite risks like drought or disturbance.^[21] In comparison, polycarpic plants employ a conservative bet-hedging approach with iterative, lower-risk reproduction suited to more stable conditions, where repeated opportunities enhance overall fitness by spreading reproductive efforts over time.^[22] Additionally, monocarpic species frequently exhibit extended pre-reproductive lifespans, accumulating resources during a prolonged juvenile phase before the terminal bloom, whereas polycarpic plants balance growth and reproduction more continuously without such a definitive buildup.^[20] These strategies involve inherent trade-offs in fecundity and survival. Monocarpic reproduction yields higher per-event seed output due to the massive resource commitment, but it precludes any subsequent generations from the parent, leading to programmed death post-flowering.^[21] Polycarpic plants, however, incur ongoing costs for vegetative maintenance and recovery between cycles, resulting in comparatively lower fecundity per reproductive bout but enabling multiple contributions to future populations over an extended lifespan.^[22]

Life Cycle Stages

Vegetative Growth

In monocarpic plants, the vegetative growth phase represents a prolonged period dedicated to resource acquisition and biomass accumulation prior to the single reproductive event. This stage involves the development of leaves, roots, and storage organs to build reserves necessary for survival and eventual reproduction. Unlike polycarpic species that allocate resources iteratively across multiple flowering cycles, monocarpic perennials invest heavily in vegetative structures over extended timelines, often spanning years to decades. For instance, in agaves, this phase can last 5–30 years, during which the plant forms a compact rosette of succulent leaves that maximize light capture and water retention.^[23] Similarly, certain bamboo species maintain vegetative growth for 40–120 years, expanding through rhizomatous networks to establish extensive clonal colonies.^[24] Growth patterns during this phase vary by species but commonly include either solitary rosette formation or clonal propagation to enhance persistence in challenging environments. Rosette-forming monocarpics, such as species in the genus Agave or Saxifraga, develop basal leaf clusters that prioritize vertical space efficiency and protection of meristems, allowing slow but steady expansion in arid or rocky habitats.^[25] In contrast, clonal strategies predominate in bamboos (Poaceae subfamily Bambusoideae), where underground rhizomes produce new shoots (ramets) that contribute to collective resource pooling without immediate reproductive commitment. The transition from vegetative to reproductive phases is typically triggered by environmental cues, such as attaining a critical plant size or age threshold, which signals sufficient resource accumulation.^[26] These patterns enable monocarpics to colonize unstable or resource-poor sites by delaying reproduction until conditions favor high offspring success. Adaptations for enduring long non-reproductive periods emphasize resilience to abiotic stresses, particularly drought, and efficient nutrient management. Many monocarpic perennials, especially succulents like agaves, employ crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthesis, which minimizes transpiration by fixing CO₂ at night, allowing survival through extended dry spells of up to several years.^[23] Complementary traits include thick, waxy leaves or stems that store water and reduce evaporative loss, alongside shallow but extensive root systems that exploit episodic rainfall. Nutrient storage is facilitated by carbohydrate reserves, such as fructans and starches, accumulated in bulbs, caudices, or rhizomes; for example, agave stems can hold substantial inulin-type fructans, providing energy buffers during stress.^[23] In bamboos, belowground reserves support rapid culm elongation once established, underscoring how these adaptations sustain vegetative dominance until reproductive maturity. These features collectively ensure that the built-up biomass serves as a foundation for the ensuing reproductive burst.

Reproductive Phase

The reproductive phase in monocarpic plants represents the culmination of extended vegetative growth, marking a singular, terminal event of flowering and seed production. Floral induction is typically triggered by either size-dependent or age-related cues, where plants reach a critical threshold of biomass or maturity before initiating reproduction. For instance, in the annual monocarpic model Arabidopsis thaliana, flowering occurs after the production of a specific number of rosette leaves, reflecting a size-based mechanism that ensures sufficient resources for reproduction.^[13] In contrast, long-lived perennials like the Haleakalā silversword (Argyroxiphium sandwicense) exhibit age-related induction, often flowering after decades of growth, such as over 50 years, to optimize reproductive timing under variable environmental conditions.^[13] This plasticity in triggering allows adaptation to heterogeneous habitats, with optimal flowering age and size influenced by growth rates, mortality risks, and fecundity potential, as modeled for species like the tropical monocarpic tree Cerberiopsis candelabra.^[27] Populations of monocarpic plants often display synchronized flowering, enhancing collective reproductive success through increased pollinator attraction and gene flow. In bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae), such as Phyllostachys species, gregarious mass flowering events synchronize across large areas, with over 50% of a population blooming simultaneously at supra-annual intervals, facilitating widespread seed dispersal.^[24] This reproductive event is characterized by enormous scale, featuring massive inflorescences that produce thousands of flowers to maximize seed output. Agaves (Agave spp.), for example, develop towering paniculate inflorescences up to 9 meters tall, bearing 3,000 to 10,000 flowers per plant, which supports high seed yields—such as approximately 38,000 seeds in Agave palmeri under natural pollination.^[28] These structures ensure prolific seed production for long-distance dispersal, critical for colonizing arid or fragmented landscapes.^[29] Pollination in monocarpic plants relies on diverse vectors, including wind, insects, birds, and bats, to achieve effective seed set during this brief window. In agaves, floral traits like nocturnal anthesis and strong scents adapt to bat (chiropterophily) and hummingbird pollination, with species in south-central Mexico showing high fruit set via these animal pollinators.^[29] Bamboos predominantly outcross via wind or insects, though seed set can vary due to factors like insufficient pollination.^[30] Many monocarpic species incorporate self-incompatibility (SI) systems to prevent inbreeding, promoting genetic diversity; for example, Phyllostachys bambusoides exhibits gametophytic SI, rejecting self-pollen to favor cross-pollination during synchronized blooms.^[31] This SI mechanism, combined with predominant outcrossing, supports robust seed viability in the single reproductive episode.^[30]

Post-Reproductive Senescence

In monocarpic plants, post-reproductive senescence is a programmed process that culminates in the death of the entire plant following successful seed production, driven primarily by the reallocation of nutrients from vegetative tissues to reproductive structures. This nutrient mobilization, particularly of nitrogen and other essential elements, depletes resources in leaves, stems, and roots, leading to widespread tissue breakdown and programmed cell death. The reproductive sink's demand accelerates this remobilization, ensuring maximal seed provisioning at the expense of the parent's survival.^[32] Hormonal regulation plays a key role in initiating and propagating senescence, with a notable decline in cytokinins—plant hormones typically produced in roots and involved in delaying leaf aging—redirected toward developing seeds during the post-flowering phase. This shift disrupts source-sink balance, promoting the expression of senescence-associated genes and accelerating tissue degradation across the plant. Other hormones, such as increased abscisic acid and jasmonic acid, further reinforce this process by signaling resource reallocation and meristem arrest.^[32]^[33] The timeline of death typically spans weeks to months after seed maturation and dispersal, with senescence progressing rapidly from leaves to the whole organism, though the exact duration varies by species and environmental conditions. In model monocarpic plants like Arabidopsis thaliana, this phase concludes within a few weeks post-seeding. Rare exceptions occur in some species, such as certain agaves, where the primary rosette dies completely, but genetically identical offsets (pups) produced prior to or during flowering survive and propagate the lineage.^[32]^[34]

Notable Examples

Agaves and Yuccas

Agave americana, known as the century plant, exemplifies monocarpism among succulents, native to the hot, arid regions of central Mexico and the southwestern United States. This perennial rosette-forming plant dedicates 10 to 30 years to vegetative growth, accumulating resources in its thick, blue-gray leaves that can span up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) in diameter and feature sharp terminal spines and marginal teeth for defense against herbivores. At maturity, it abruptly shifts to reproduction, bolting a robust central stalk that elongates rapidly—often 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 cm) per day—to heights of 15 to 30 feet (4.5 to 9 meters), crowned by a branched panicle bearing thousands of tubular, yellowish-green flowers that attract bats, birds, and insects for pollination. Following seed production and dispersal, the parent rosette senesces completely within months, though it typically generates numerous offsets (pups) at its base to propagate clonally. Recent notable bloomings, such as those in Morehead City, North Carolina in May 2025 and California in June 2025, have captivated observers with their dramatic displays.^[35]^[36]^[37]^[38]^[39]^[40]^[5] Yucca species, including the iconic Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) of the Mojave Desert, exhibit a comparable life history with prolonged vegetative development before reproductive investment, though most are polycarpic and flower repeatedly over decades rather than dying after a single bloom. These woody perennials, native to arid southwestern North America, form branching trunks or rosettes of sword-like leaves and rely on an obligate mutualism with yucca moths (Tegeticula and Prodoxus genera) for pollination; female moths actively gather pollen with specialized mouthparts, deposit it on stigmas, and oviposit into ovaries, ensuring cross-pollination while their larvae consume a portion of the developing seeds without destroying the entire fruit crop. Indigenous communities, such as the Ancestral Puebloans and Navajo, have integrated yucca into their cultures for millennia, harvesting leaves for strong fibers to weave baskets, sandals, and cordage; roots to produce natural saponins for soap and shampoo; and fruits and flowers as nutritious food sources, often in ceremonial contexts symbolizing resilience and purification.^[41]^[42]^[43]^[44] In horticulture, Agave americana is widely cultivated as an ornamental for its bold, sculptural presence in drought-tolerant landscapes, rock gardens, and containers, thriving in USDA zones 8 to 11 with minimal water and well-drained soil; however, its monocarpic trait limits the lifespan of individual specimens to one dramatic flowering event, prompting gardeners to propagate via offsets or the occasional bulbils on the inflorescence to sustain populations. Yucca species, valued similarly for low-maintenance erosion control and wildlife habitat, offer extended utility in cultivation due to their polycarpic nature, though monocarpic relatives like Hesperoyucca whipplei require careful offset management post-bloom.^[45]^[41]

Bamboos

Bamboos, members of the subfamily Bambusoideae in the grass family Poaceae, exhibit remarkable monocarpic behavior in many species, characterized by extended vegetative growth followed by a single reproductive event and subsequent death. In these monocarpic bamboos, flowering often occurs synchronously across large populations in a phenomenon known as gregarious or mass flowering, with cycles typically spanning 30 to 120 years. Recent examples include a 120-year cycle flowering in Japan in 2024 and an ongoing global event for black bamboo starting in 2023.^[46]^[47] For instance, species like Dendrocalamus strictus and Dendrocalamus latiflorus demonstrate this pattern, where entire clones or regional populations flower simultaneously after decades of vegetative dominance, producing vast quantities of seeds before the parent plants senesce and die.^[24]^[48]^[49] This gregarious flowering aligns with mast seeding strategies observed in many woody bamboos, where the massive, pulsed seed production overwhelms seed predators and facilitates seedling establishment in resource-rich post-die-off environments. The subsequent die-off of mature culms creates canopy gaps, dramatically altering forest understory light levels and nutrient cycling, which can boost understory plant diversity but also lead to soil erosion and habitat shifts in bamboo-dominated ecosystems. Such events have profound ecological impacts, including rodent population booms from abundant seeds, followed by potential famines, and disruptions to wildlife dependent on bamboo foliage.^[50]^[51]^[52] While many temperate and subtropical bamboos follow this strict monocarpic cycle, exceptions exist among some tropical species, particularly those with sympodial (clumping) growth habits, which can be polycarpic and flower repeatedly without lethal senescence. For example, certain tropical sympodial bamboos like Neololeba amahussana exhibit prolonged or annual flowering over multiple seasons, allowing continued vegetative persistence. These variations are influenced by a combination of genetic factors, such as physiological maturity thresholds and epigenetic changes like DNA methylation, alongside environmental triggers including climatic stress, drought, or human disturbances that can accelerate or desynchronize flowering events.^[24]^[49]^[53]

Other Monocarpic Plants

Certain palm species in the genus Corypha exemplify long-lived monocarpic plants, spending decades in vegetative growth before a single reproductive event. For instance, Corypha umbraculifera, known as the talipot palm, typically vegetates for 30 to 80 years, after which it produces a massive inflorescence up to 8 meters tall containing millions of flowers, followed by death of the parent plant. A notable recent event was the first flowering of this species in Mexico in May 2024.^[54] Similarly, Corypha utan (gebang palm) flowers once after 30 to 60 years, yielding a huge branching inflorescence before the tree dies, with fruits that aid in dispersal.^[55] These "suicide palms" invest heavily in this terminal bloom, often covering the plant entirely and drawing significant ecological attention due to their rarity.^[56] Aeoniums, a genus of succulents in the Crassulaceae family native to the Canary Islands and parts of Africa, represent shorter-cycle monocarpic rosette plants that undergo bolting prior to reproduction. These plants form compact rosettes of fleshy leaves during vegetative phases lasting several years, then elongate a central stem (bolting) to produce conical inflorescences of small, star-shaped yellow or white flowers, after which the flowering rosette dies.^[57] Offsets from the base may persist, allowing clonal propagation, but the main flowering structure is strictly monocarpic.^[58] Other monocarpic succulents, such as certain species in genera like Sempervivum or Furcraea, follow analogous patterns of rosette growth, terminal flowering, and maternal death, though aeoniums are particularly noted for their dramatic color changes during the bloom.^[57] Annual plants, particularly in the Brassicaceae (mustard) family, illustrate short-duration monocarpy as a fundamental life history strategy adapted to ephemeral habitats. Species like field mustard (Brassica rapa var. rapa) complete their entire cycle—germination, vegetative growth, flowering, seed production, and death—within one growing season, typically as winter annuals in temperate regions.^[59] Tower mustard (Arabis glabra), an annual or biennial member of the same family, emerges as a taprooted rosette and flowers once before senescing, emphasizing resource allocation to a single reproductive bout.^[60] While less emphasized in discussions of monocarpy due to their rapid pace compared to perennials, these annual mustards highlight the spectrum of monocarpic strategies, from brief cycles to extended pre-reproductive phases.^[61]

Ecological and Evolutionary Significance

Adaptive Advantages

Monocarpic plants, or semelparous species, exhibit a life history strategy where reproduction occurs in a single, massive event followed by death, which provides significant adaptive benefits in environments characterized by high uncertainty and low adult survival rates. In unpredictable habitats such as deserts, where the probability of surviving to a second reproductive episode is often minimal due to factors like drought or herbivory, this strategy allows individuals to allocate all accumulated resources to one high-yield reproductive bout, maximizing lifetime fecundity. For instance, semelparous plants can produce approximately 2.5 to 5 times more seeds per individual than their iteroparous relatives by fully mobilizing vegetative reserves into reproductive structures, thereby increasing the chances that at least some offspring will establish in harsh conditions.^[11]^[62] This concentrated reproductive effort also plays key ecological roles that enhance population persistence. In species with synchronized flowering, such as certain bamboos, population-level monocarpy can facilitate predator satiation, where the overwhelming abundance of seeds or fruits temporarily overwhelms predators, allowing a higher proportion of propagules to survive and germinate. Additionally, the enormous seed output from monocarpic events contributes to the formation of persistent seed banks in the soil, which serve as a reservoir for future generations, buffering against episodic favorable conditions in variable ecosystems and promoting long-term population viability.^[11]^[62] Monocarpy is particularly well-suited to stressful environmental conditions, including aridity and nutrient-poor soils, where slow vegetative growth over many years builds substantial resource stores that can be unleashed for reproduction during rare windows of opportunity. Plants like agaves in desert regions exemplify this fit, as their rosette growth form conserves water and nutrients over decades, enabling a singular, explosive reproductive phase that capitalizes on infrequent rainfall events for seedling establishment. This strategy contrasts with iteroparity by avoiding the repeated costs of reproduction in resource-limited settings, thereby optimizing fitness under chronic stress.^[11]^[62]

Demographic and Evolutionary Models

Demographic theory for monocarpic plants relies on adaptations of the Euler-Lotka equation to model population growth and optimal reproductive timing in semelparous life histories. The Euler-Lotka equation, which equates the population growth rate r to the sum of age-specific fertilities weighted by survival probabilities, is simplified for semelparity where reproduction occurs only once at a specific age a, leading to the net reproductive rate R_0 = l(a) m(a) = 1 at equilibrium, with l(a) as survival to age a and m(a) as fecundity at reproduction.^[63] This framework predicts that the optimal age at reproduction maximizes lifetime fitness by balancing gains from delayed reproduction (increased size and fecundity) against mortality risks. Specifically, flowering is delayed if adult survival rates exceed juvenile mortality rates, as the survival advantage of postponing reproduction outweighs the risk of death before reproducing; the condition for optimal age a^* is derived as \frac{1}{m(a^*)} \frac{dm(a)}{da} \bigg|_{a^*} = \mu(a^*), where \mu(a) is the mortality rate, indicating that growth benefits justify delay when mortality is low in later stages.^[64] Evolutionary studies of monocarpic plants employ trade-off models to explain the evolution of single reproductive episodes, where the cost of reproduction—often leading to post-reproductive death—equates to total lifetime fitness under selection pressures. These models, often implemented via integral projection models (IPMs), quantify how size-dependent fecundity and survival interact to select for maturation size and age, with reproduction favored when it maximizes the intrinsic rate of increase despite lethal costs. In long-lived perennials like Lomatium species, empirical data integrated into such models reveal trade-offs where vegetative growth enhances future reproductive output but incurs opportunity costs from skipped breeding seasons, supporting the persistence of monocarpy in stable environments with low adult mortality. Despite advances, key research gaps persist in understanding the impacts of climate change on reproductive synchrony in monocarpic plants and the genetic mechanisms underlying floral induction. Rising temperatures and altered precipitation are projected to disrupt masting events—synchronous mass flowering in species like bamboos—by desynchronizing cues such as resource accumulation and weather signals, potentially reducing pollination efficiency and seed predator satiation, though empirical data from long-lived monocarpics remain limited.^[65] Similarly, the genetic basis of floral induction in monocarpic plants involves stable epigenetic repression of floral repressors like FLC in Arabidopsis thaliana, but the cis-regulatory elements and chromatin dynamics enabling irreversible commitment versus transient induction in polycarpic relatives require further genomic dissection to clarify evolutionary transitions; recent studies (as of 2025) on MADS-box gene regulation in floral organogenesis highlight ongoing progress in general flowering pathways but underscore the need for monocarpic-specific research.^[13]^[66]^[67]

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https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/ert477
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Succulents | UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County
Many produce offsets or pups before dying. Examples are Aeonium, Agave ... After flowering each plant dies, but offsets readily fill in empty spaces.
[35]
Agave americana - Find Trees & Learn | UA Campus Arboretum
Agave americana is a monocot plant, with an average life span of 10-25 years which grows to form a basal rosette. Its leaves are blue-green and are extremely ...Missing: cycle | Show results with:cycle
[36]
Genus Agave - Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Agave deserti is a very slow-growing species; even in cultivation with generous irrigation it takes at least 20 years to flower. As spent rosettes of wild ...Missing: phase | Show results with:phase
[37]
Agave americana (century plant) | CABI Compendium
A. americana is a monocarpic species. Plants produce flowers only once, at the end of their life-cycle after which they die (Nobel, 1988).
[38]
Plant Finder - Agave americana - Missouri Botanical Garden
When an outdoor plant blooms, it sends up a single, stout, erect flowering stalk from the center of the basal rosette of leaves to 15-30' tall or more. The ...<|separator|>
[39]
[PDF] Yuccas - Cooperative Extension - The University of Arizona
Mar 18, 2023 · While closely related to Agaves, most. Yuccas flower repeatedly, but a few are monocarpic (flower once, and then die) like most Agaves. All ...
[40]
'Eastern' Joshua trees and their sole pollinators, 'eastern' Yucca moths
Jun 27, 2023 · Joshua trees depend on the moth for pollination and the moth requires Joshua trees to complete its own life cycle. Joshua trees – and the single ...
[41]
Ancestral Pueblo Native Plant Use - National Park Service
Yucca was a very important plant for the Ancestral Pueblo people because of its diverse uses. The roots of the plant were peeled and ground to produce a sudsy ...
[42]
Native American Legends About Yucca Plants
Yucca fruits and roots were eaten, and the tough yucca fiber was used to weave baskets and sandals. Yucca leaves are also used ceremonially by the Navajos.Missing: significance | Show results with:significance
[43]
Agave americana: Characteristics and Potential Breeding Priorities
Sep 2, 2022 · Agave americana is monocarpic and can grow for several decades before maturing to the flowering stage. Although the plants could potentially ...
[44]
Gregarious flowering of Dendrocalamus strictus in Uttar Pradesh ...
Bamboos are monocarpic, flowering once in their lifespan and then dying. It is an adaptation thought to support seedling establishment by freeing up ...
[45]
The Bamboo Flowering Cycle Sheds Light on Flowering Diversity
Bamboo (subfamily Bambusoideae) is a large clade of the family Poaceae. There are more than 88 genera and 1,642 species worldwide, of which 28 genera and more ...
[46]
Mast Flowering and Semelparity in Bamboos
Mast flowering is the phenomenon of massive flowering and fruiting at intermittent intervals that is synchronized within a species across large areas.Missing: impact | Show results with:impact
[47]
Ecological Consequences of a Massive Flowering Event of Bamboo ...
Results: Bamboo flowering dramatically increased light availability in the forest understory but, surprisingly, other environmental changes were not ...
[48]
(PDF) Gregarious flowering and mast seeding of a climbing bamboo ...
Aug 7, 2025 · As the flowering of bamboo and its hazardous impacts are well known, proper management plan for this species is recommended in this paper. A ...
[49]
Delayed Flowering in Bamboo: Evidence from Fargesia qinlingensis ...
Gregarious flowering of bamboo species impacts ecosystem properties and conservation, but documentation of these periodic events is difficult.
[50]
Corypha utan - Palmpedia - Palm Grower's Guide
Plants flower only after 30-60 years and then die (monocarpic). Fruit ... It will ultimately end the life of the tree once the fruit have matured. Its ...
[51]
News about the first flowering of a Corypha umbraculifera at the ...
Dec 3, 2021 · Palms that flower only once at the end of their life are called monocarpic or hapaxanthic, and have the popular nickname of “suicide palms”.
[52]
9 Monocarpic Succulents That Die After Flowering - Gardener's Path
Jan 1, 2025 · A true monocarpic plant comes from a single zygote and the entire plant dies after it blooms. If a species only dies back partially, or new growth emerges from ...9 Monocarpic Succulents · 2. Agave · 8. Sempervivum<|control11|><|separator|>
[53]
Aeonium Uses, Photos, IDs, Varieties - Debra Lee Baldwin
Bloom time depends on variety, but is generally spring or summer. Aeoniums are monocarpic, meaning they die after blooming. But many varieties are branching, ...
[54]
[PDF] Field Mustard (Brassica rapa var. rapa) Plant Guide
May 3, 2012 · General: Field mustard is an upright winter annual or biennial that is a member of the mustard family (Brassicaceae). Plants exist as basal ...
[55]
Tower-mustard - Montana Field Guide
Taprooted annual or biennial (monocarpic) with an unbranched caudex. Stems are usually unbranched and stands 40–120 cm tall.
[56]
Divergence of annual and perennial species in the Brassicaceae ...
Most monocarpic plants are annual, completing their life cycle within 1 year ... Several genera in this family such as Arabidopsis, Brassica, Draba and ...
[57]
(PDF) Ecology and evolution of long-lived semelparous plants
Aug 5, 2025 · Semelparity in long-lived plants is one of the few natural phenomena that has yielded specific quantitative tests of mathematical evolutionary theory.
[58]
Selection for Optimal Life Histories: The Effects of Age Structure
Mar 1, 1974 · The present study seeks to extend the formal analysis of optimal life histories to complex cases. I show that an optimal life history maximizes ...
[59]
https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_brrar.pdf
[60]
Evolutionary ecology of masting: mechanisms, models, and climate ...
In Fagus sylvatica (European beech), warming resulted in declining CVi and synchrony, which weakened predator satiation and pollination efficiency, leading to a ...