Considered as perennial weed, P maximum is a robust plant, strongly
cespitose, rhizomatous, erect, 1 to 2 m high, forming large clumps.
Wiregrass has a
cespitose growth form with arching foliage that densely covers the ground within several years after fire.
This may be related to the growth habit of each species, as the
cespitose habit of these species causes the investment of more resources in the production of supporting structures (stems).
Out of the 18 intermediate sized palms four were solitary, one colonial and 13 were
cespitose. Of the eight small palms half were solitary, one colonial and three
cespitose.
Lithophytic rosulated,
cespitose herbs to 1.7 m high, with conspicuous slender stolons, the mature rosettes zygomorphic; leaves 15-20 per rosette, sheaths white, lustrous on both surfaces, blades light green with purple marginal bands, narrowly triangular, densely lepidote abaxially; inflorescence lateral, erect; peduncle bracts foliaceous, 2-20 cm long, linear, attenuate and pungent, spiny at the margins; staminate inflorescences twice branched; pistillate inflorescences once branched; staminate flowers white, sessile; filaments in the male flowers 3.9-4.2 mm long, anthers yellow, 2-2.5 mm long, with a conspicuous apical acumen; pistillate flowers greenish white, sessile; sepals 3.5-4.3 mm long; petals narrowly triangular elliptic, 5.8-6 mm long.
Euterpe precatoria is divided into two varieties by Henderson (1995), longevaginata (stems solitary or
cespitose, low and high elevations in the Andes and Central America) and precatoria (stems solitary, low elevations in the Amazon).
It is a
cespitose, perennial grass, with erect culms, 150-250 cm long.
Plants perennial,
cespitose, culms 120-220 cm tall, nodes 17-27, glabrous; floral stem robust, cylindrical.
We also computed the number of species in each growth-form category, percent
cespitose species, and number of species with palmate or costapalmate leaves from the species lists.
montana is
cespitose, all stems within 10 cm of each other were considered to be parts of an individual plant.
Plants annual to short-lived perennial, loosely
cespitose; rhizomes (in perennial plants) short, 1-2 mm thick; roots fibrous.