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Forbs are herbaceous
Herbaceous

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaf and stem that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. A herbaceous plant may be Annual plant, Biennial plant or Perennial plant....
 flowering plant
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s that are not graminoids (grasses
Poaceae

Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the Magnoliophyta. Plants of this family are usually called grasses; the shrub- or tree-like plants in this family are called bamboo ....
, sedges
Cyperaceae

The family Cyperaceae, or the sedges, is a taxon of monocotyledon flowering plants that superficially resemble Poaceae or Juncaceae. The family is large, with some 4,000 species described in about 70 genera....
 and rushes
Juncaceae

The Juncaceae, the rush family, is a rather small monocotyledon flowering plant family. There are 8 genus and about 400 species. Many of these slow-growing plants superficially resemble Poaceae, though are herbs or Shrub, growing on infertile soils....
). The term is frequently used in vegetation ecology
Ecology

Ecology is the science study of the distribution and Abundance of life and the interactions between organisms and their nature environment ....
, especially in relation to grassland
Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found....
s. Forbs represent a guild
Guild (ecology)

Guilds are groups of species that exploit the same resources in the same way, therefore sharing a similar ecological niche.Some example guilds: forb, geophyte, graminoid, shrub, tree, vine, and arthropods....
 of plant species with broadly similar growth form, which in ecology
Ecology

Ecology is the science study of the distribution and Abundance of life and the interactions between organisms and their nature environment ....
 is often more important than taxonomic
Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification. The word comes from the Greek language ', taxis and ', nomos .Taxonomies, or taxonomic schemes, are composed of taxonomic units known as taxa , or kinds of things that are arranged frequently in a hierarchical structure....
 relationship.

In addition to its use in ecological studies, the term forb may also be used for subdividing popular guides to the wildflower
Wildflower

A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets....
s of a region, together with other categories such as fern
Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 20,000 species of plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta....
s, grasses, shrubs and trees.






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Encyclopedia


Forbs are herbaceous
Herbaceous

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaf and stem that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. A herbaceous plant may be Annual plant, Biennial plant or Perennial plant....
 flowering plant
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s that are not graminoids (grasses
Poaceae

Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the Magnoliophyta. Plants of this family are usually called grasses; the shrub- or tree-like plants in this family are called bamboo ....
, sedges
Cyperaceae

The family Cyperaceae, or the sedges, is a taxon of monocotyledon flowering plants that superficially resemble Poaceae or Juncaceae. The family is large, with some 4,000 species described in about 70 genera....
 and rushes
Juncaceae

The Juncaceae, the rush family, is a rather small monocotyledon flowering plant family. There are 8 genus and about 400 species. Many of these slow-growing plants superficially resemble Poaceae, though are herbs or Shrub, growing on infertile soils....
). The term is frequently used in vegetation ecology
Ecology

Ecology is the science study of the distribution and Abundance of life and the interactions between organisms and their nature environment ....
, especially in relation to grassland
Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found....
s. Forbs represent a guild
Guild (ecology)

Guilds are groups of species that exploit the same resources in the same way, therefore sharing a similar ecological niche.Some example guilds: forb, geophyte, graminoid, shrub, tree, vine, and arthropods....
 of plant species with broadly similar growth form, which in ecology
Ecology

Ecology is the science study of the distribution and Abundance of life and the interactions between organisms and their nature environment ....
 is often more important than taxonomic
Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification. The word comes from the Greek language ', taxis and ', nomos .Taxonomies, or taxonomic schemes, are composed of taxonomic units known as taxa , or kinds of things that are arranged frequently in a hierarchical structure....
 relationship.

In addition to its use in ecological studies, the term forb may also be used for subdividing popular guides to the wildflower
Wildflower

A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets....
s of a region, together with other categories such as fern
Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 20,000 species of plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta....
s, grasses, shrubs and trees. This approach is not followed in formal regional flora
Flora

In botany, flora has two meanings. The first meaning, flora of an area or of time period, refers to all plant life occurring in an area or time period, especially the naturally occurring or indigenous plant life....
s, which are usually organised taxonomically
Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification. The word comes from the Greek language ', taxis and ', nomos .Taxonomies, or taxonomic schemes, are composed of taxonomic units known as taxa , or kinds of things that are arranged frequently in a hierarchical structure....
.

Some examples of forbs are clover
Clover

Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes on mountains in the tropics....
, sunflower
Sunflower

The sunflower is an annual plant in the family Asteraceae and native to the Americas, with a large flowering head . The stem can grow as high as 3 meters , and the flower head can reach 30 cm in diameter with the "large" seeds....
 and milkweed.

See also

  • herb
    Herb

    A herb is a plant that is valued for qualities such as medicinal properties, flavor, scent, or the like....
  • overgrazing
    Overgrazing

    Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to livestock grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It reduces the usefulness of the land and is one cause of desertification and erosion....
  • understory
    Understory

    Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows in the shade of the emergent or Canopy . Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs....