{{short description|Retention of plant organs that normally are shed}} [[File:Equisetum hyemale affine Pennsylvania USA 2020-03-09.jpg|thumb|''Equisetum praealtum'' with persistent stem in March]] [[File:Hamamelis virginiana Vermont USA 2022-04-17-A.jpg|thumb|''Hamamelis virginiana'' with persistent calyx in April]]
'''Persistence''' is the retention of plant organs, such as flowers, seeds, or leaves, after their normal function has been completed, in contrast with the shedding of deciduous organs after their purpose has been fulfilled.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hitchcock |first1=C. Leo |last2=Cronquist |first2=Arthur |date=2018 |title=Flora of the Pacific Northwest |edition=2nd|page=xxxviii, xliii |publisher= University of Washington Press |location= Seattle |isbn=978-0-29574-288-5}}</ref> Absence or presence of persistent plant organs can be a helpful clue in plant identification, and may be one of many types of anatomical details noted in the species descriptions or dichotomous keys of plant identification guides.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://employees.csbsju.edu/ssaupe/biol308/Lecture/keys.htm |title=Plant Identification (featuring Taxonomic Keys) |last1=Saupe |first1=Stephen |website=College of St. Benedict/St. John's University|access-date=2022-05-01}}</ref> Many species of woody plants with persistent fruit provide an important food source for birds and other wildlife in winter.{{r|Jauron 2000}}
The terms persistent and deciduous are not used in a consistent manner by botanists. Related terms such as long-persistent, generally deciduous, and caducous suggest that some plant parts are more persistent than others. However, these terms lack clear definitions.{{r|Harms 1}}
== Species with persistent parts ==
There are numerous herbaceous and woody plant species that produce persistent parts such as bud scales, sepals ({{Wikt-lang|en|calyx|italic=no}}), fronds, fruits, seeds, strobili (cones) or styles. Note that the trait of persistence exhibited by a given species within a genus may not be exhibited by all species within the genus. For example, the ''Equisetum'' genus includes some species that have persistent strobili while other species have deciduous strobili.{{sfnp|Pojar|MacKinnon|1994|pages=428–431}}
{| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Species ! Persistent part |- | ''Berberis bealei'' (leatherleaf mahonia){{r|MGNV}} | bud scales |- | ''Berberis swaseyi'' (Texas barberry){{r|Harms 2}} | bud scales |- | ''Berberis trifoliolata'' (agarita){{r|Harms 2}} | bud scales |- | ''Hamamelis virginiana'' (common witch-hazel){{r|MGNV}} | calyx |- | ''Matteuccia struthiopteris'' (ostrich fern){{r|MGNV}} | frond |- | ''Onoclea sensibilis'' (sensitive fern){{r|MGNV}} | frond |- | ''Aronia arbutifolia'' (red chokeberry){{r|Jauron 2000|IOWA}} | fruit |- | ''Berberis thunbergii'' (Japanese barberry){{r|FEIS:berthu}} | fruit |- | ''Cephalanthus occidentalis'' (buttonbush){{r|MGNV}} | fruit |- | ''Chimaphila umbellata'' (umbellate wintergreen){{r|Guertin et al. 2017}} | fruit |- | ''Clethra alnifolia'' (sweet pepperbush){{r|MGNV}} | fruit |- | ''Cornus florida'' (flowering dogwood)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=279338&isprofile=1&basic=cornus%20florida|title=Cornus florida |website= Missouri Botanical Garden|access-date=2022-05-01}}</ref> | fruit |- | ''Cotoneaster apiculatus'' (cranberry cotoneaster){{r|IOWA}} | fruit |- | ''Crataegus phaenopyrum'' (Washington hawthorn){{r|Jauron 2000|IOWA}} | fruit |- | ''Hamamelis virginiana'' (common witch-hazel){{r|Guertin et al. 2017}} | fruit |- | ''Ilex verticillata'' (winterberry){{r|Jauron 2000|MGNV|IOWA|Guertin et al. 2017}} | fruit |- | ''Malus coronaria'' (sweet crabapple){{r|MGNV}} | fruit |- | ''Malus sargentii'' (Sargent crabapple)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/ST401|title=MALUS SARGENTII: SARGENT CRABAPPLE |last1=Gilman |first1=Edward |last2=Watson |first2=Dennis |website= University of Florida IFAS Extension |access-date=2022-05-01}}</ref> | fruit |- | ''Orthilia secunda'' (one-sided wintergreen){{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} | fruit |- | ''Oxydendrum arboreum'' (sourwood){{r|MGNV}} | fruit |- | ''Rhus typhina'' (staghorn sumac){{r|IOWA}} | fruit |- | ''Allium tricoccum'' (ramp){{Citation needed|date=November 2023}} | seed |- | ''Eriophorum virginicum'' (tawny cottongrass){{Citation needed|date=November 2025}} | seed |- | ''Equisetum praealtum'' (rough horsetail){{r|FNA:233500619}} | stem |- | ''Larix occidentalis'' (western larch)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hitchcock |first1=C. Leo |last2=Cronquist |first2=Arthur |date=2018 |title=Flora of the Pacific Northwest |edition=2nd|page=68 |publisher= University of Washington Press |location= Seattle |isbn=978-0-29574-288-5}}</ref> | strobilus |- | ''Picea mariana'' (black spruce)<ref name="NWW">{{Cite web|url=https://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/high-hanging-fruit-conifers|title=High-Hanging Fruit: Boom and Bust Seed Crops of Conifers |last1=Morse |first1=Susan |website= Northern Woodlands |date=10 November 2015 |access-date=2022-05-01}}</ref> | strobilus |- | ''Pinus banksiana'' (Jack pine)<ref name="NWW"/> | strobilus |- | ''Clematis terniflora'' (sweet autumn clematis){{r|MGNV}} | style |- | ''Orthilia secunda'' (one-sided wintergreen){{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} | style |}
Common witch-hazel (''Hamamelis virginiana'') may have a persistent calyx or a persistent fruit (or both at the same time). After flowering in the fall,{{r|FNA:220006023}} the sepals (calyx) and pollinated ovary persist during the winter months.{{r|MGNV}} After the ovary is fertilized in the spring, it fuses with the calyx to form a greenish fruit, which eventually becomes woody and brown.{{r|FNA:114541}} In the fall, the ripe fruit suddenly splits, explosively dispersing black seeds up to {{convert|10|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}. The empty capsule persists after the seeds are dispersed.{{r|Guertin et al. 2017}}
==Image gallery== <gallery widths="200px" heights="200px"> File:20201210Larix decidua2.jpg|''Larix decidua'' has persistent seed cones. File:Cornus florida Cherokee Princess 10zz.jpg|This ''Cornus florida'' cultivar has persistent fruit into winter. File:Pinus banksiana 2021 06 20 Kumpula 0352.jpg|Seed cones of ''Pinus banksiana'' persist on branches long after seeds are released. File:Berberis thunbergii berries.jpg|''Berberis thunbergii'' has persistent fruit. File:Ruhland, Brauhausplatz, Zierapfel (Malus sargentii) in Gebüschpflanzung, Früchte am Zweig, Herbst, 01.jpg|''Malus sargentii'' has persistent fruit. File:Nova Scotia DSC 2601 (2300122122).jpg|Serotinous seed cones of ''Picea mariana'' persist even after fire has caused the seeds to be released. File:Red Chokeberry - Flickr - treegrow (1).jpg|Fruit of this ''Aronia arbutifolia'' cultivar persist through the winter and into early spring when new buds are emerging. File:Hamamelis virginiana Vermont USA 2022-04-17-B.jpg|''Hamamelis virginiana'' with persistent fruit in April File:Eriophorum virginicum Ontario CA 2019-03-10.jpg|''Eriophorum virginicum'' with persistent seeds in March </gallery>
==See also== * Evergreen * Semi-deciduous * Marcescence
==References== {{Reflist|40em|refs=
<ref name="FEIS:berthu">{{Cite web |title=Berberis thunbergii |website= USDA and USFS Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/berthu/all.html |access-date=2023-11-28}}</ref>
<ref name="FNA:114541">{{eFloras|1|114541|Hamamelis |family=Hamamelidaceae |first=Frederick G. |last=Meyer}}</ref> <ref name="FNA:220006023">{{eFloras|1|220006023|Hamamelis virginiana |family=Hamamelidaceae |first=Frederick G. |last=Meyer}}</ref> <ref name="FNA:233500619">{{eFloras|1|233500619|Equisetum hyemale subsp. affine |family= Equisetaceae |first1=Richard L. |last1=Hauke |access-date=23 November 2025}}</ref>
<ref name="Guertin et al. 2017">{{cite web |last1=Guertin |first1=P. |last2=Barnett |first2=L. |last3=Denny |first3=E.G. |last4=Schaffer |first4=S.N. |title=Phenophase Primer for Plants (Draft Version) |url=https://www.usanpn.org/files/npn/reports/USA-NPN-PhenophasePrimer_Section1-June2017.pdf |publisher=USA National Phenology Network |access-date=28 November 2023 |page=78 |date=2017}}</ref>
<ref name="Harms 1">{{cite web |last1=Harms |first1=Bob |title=Deciduous and Persistent |url=https://w3.biosci.utexas.edu/prc/DigFlora/BERB/deciduous.html |access-date=23 November 2023}}</ref>
<ref name="Harms 2">{{cite web |last1=Harms |first1=Bob |title=Persistent Bud Scales of ''Berberis'' in Central Texas |url=https://w3.biosci.utexas.edu/prc/DigFlora/BERB/BERB-persist.html |access-date=22 November 2023}}</ref>
<ref name="IOWA">{{Cite web |last1=Jauron |first1=Richard |title=Trees and Shrubs with Colorful Fruit in Fall and Winter |website=Iowa State University Extension and Outreach |url=https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/2004/11-5-2004/colorful.html |access-date=2023-11-26}}</ref>
<ref name="Jauron 2000">{{Cite web |title=It's for the Birds! |last1=Jauron |first1=Richard |website=Iowa State University Extension and Outreach |url=https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/2000/2-25-2000/forthebirds.html |access-date=2022-05-01}}</ref>
<ref name="MGNV">{{cite web |title=Persistent |url=https://mgnv.org/plants/glossary/persistent/ |website=Master Gardeners Northern Virginia |date=10 December 2021 |publisher=Virginia Cooperative Extension |access-date=22 November 2023}}</ref>
}}
==Bibliography== * {{cite book |last1=Pojar |first1=Jim |last2=MacKinnon |first2=Andy |date=1994 |title=Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast |edition=2nd |publisher=Lone Pine |isbn=978-1-55105-530-5}}
Category:Plant physiology