Forb
{{short description|Herbaceous, broad-leaved flowering plant}}
{{Redirect|Forbs|the former football player|Forbs (footballer)|the American business magazine|Forbes}}
File:A sunflower.jpg (Helianthus annuus), a large forb]]
A forb or phorb is a herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in botany and in vegetation ecology especially in relation to grasslands{{cite book |author=Schröder, Hans |title=Grasslands: Ecology, Management and Restoration |publisher=Nova Science Publishers |location=Commack, N.Y |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-60692-024-4 }} and understory.{{Cite web|title=Native Understory Forbs and Grasses|url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/plantmaterials/newsroom/feature/?cid=stelprdb1044923|website=www.nrcs.usda.gov|access-date=2021-05-02|archive-date=2022-03-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308061955/https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/plantmaterials/newsroom/feature/?cid=stelprdb1044923|url-status=dead}} Typically, these are eudicots without woody stems.
Etymology
The word forb is derived from Greek {{Transliteration|grc|phorbḗ}} ({{lang|grc|φορβή}}) 'pasture; fodder'.{{cite book |author=Jaeger, Edmund C. |author-link=Edmund Jaeger |title=A source-book of biological names and terms |url=https://archive.org/details/sourcebookofbiol0000jaeg |url-access=registration |publisher=Thomas |location=Springfield, Ill |year=1959 |isbn=0-398-06179-3 }}{{cite book |author1=Scott, Robert Pickett |author2=Henry, George |title=Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon, Abridged: Original Edition, republished in larger and clearer typeface |publisher=Simon Wallenburg Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-84356-026-5 }} The Hellenic spelling phorb is sometimes used, and in older usage this sometimes includes graminids and other plants currently not regarded as forbs.
Guilds
Forbs are members of a guild{{mdash}}a group of plant species with broadly similar growth forms.{{Cite journal|last=Roxburgh|first=Stephen|title=A Demonstration of Guild Based Assembly Rules for a Plant Community and Determination of Intrinsic Guilds|journal=Oikos |date=1994 |volume=69 |issue=2 |pages=267–276 |doi=10.2307/3546147 |jstor=3546147 |bibcode=1994Oikos..69..267W }} In certain contexts in ecology, guild membership may often be more important than the taxonomic relationships between organisms.
In informal classification
In addition to its use in ecology, the term "forb" may be used for subdividing popular guides to wildflowers,{{Cite web| title=Wildflower seeds and forbs | url=https://graniteseed.com/seed/wildflowers-forbs/|access-date=2021-05-02|website=graniteseed.com}} distinguishing them from other categories such as grasses, sedges, shrubs, and trees.{{Cite web|date=2009-05-28|title=Describe the major differences between the plant families used as forages.|url=https://forages.oregonstate.edu/nfgc/eo/onlineforagecurriculum/instructormaterials/availabletopics/plantid/differences|access-date=2021-05-02|website=Forage Information System|language=en}} Some examples of forbs are clovers, sunflowers, daylilies, and milkweed.
Forb Adaptation Zones:
Kale and turnip are examples of forb adaptations distributed over much of Europe, southern Oceania, northern Asia, and northern North America. In cooler climates, these crops are grown year-round, while in warmer climates, they are used as winter forage.
Examples
See also
- {{annotated link|Dicotyledon}}
- {{annotated link|Herbaceous plant}}
- {{annotated link|Overgrazing}}
- Tapestry lawn
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service [http://plants.usda.gov/growth_habits_def.html link] to Growth habits Codes and Definitions.