nonwoody

Nonwoody is a descriptive term used in botany and horticulture to refer to plants whose stems are soft, flexible, and lack substantial lignified wood. In nonwoody plants the body is dominated by primary tissues, and they typically do not develop extensive secondary xylem and phloem, which are characteristic of wood. As a result, many nonwoody stems are herbaceous and may die back to the ground at the end of the growing season.

Nonwoody encompasses a wide range of life forms, including annuals, herbaceous perennials, grasses, and many ferns and flowering herbs. The distinction from woody plants is structural rather than taxonomic: a plant may be classified as nonwoody if its stems do not persist as lignified wood year after year. Some herbaceous perennials regrow from crowns, rhizomes, or bulbs after periods of dieback.

Examples of nonwoody plants include corn, beans, lettuce, sunflowers, grasses, and many herbs such as thyme or mint, as well as garden perennials like hosta and astilbe. Ferns and mosses are also nonwoody, lacking persistent wood in their stems or shoots.

Anatomically, nonwoody stems are typically marked by thin, flexible tissues with little or no secondary growth. This results in stems that may be shorter-lived or require annual reseeding or regrowth from below-ground structures. Nonwoody plants are common in gardens and natural ecosystems, where they contribute to seasonal color, rapid ground cover, and diverse habitats.