Therophytes - Classes of Life Form

These are annual plants of the summer season or of the favourable season. They complete their life cycles in a single favourable season and overwinter as seeds, which remain dormant during the unfavourable period of the year. Therophytes complete their life cycle within a few months only and occur commonly in deserts and grasslands.

The relative proportion of different life forms in a vegetation, tells us about the geo-climatic conditions. For example Phanerophytes comprise about 60-90% of the flora of humid tropics. Chamaephytes are characteristic of arctic and alpine regions. , and in cool temperate regions about 50% species are Hemicryptophytes.