A cushion plant is a compact, low-growing, mat-forming plant that is found in alpine, subalpine, arctic, or subarctic environments around the world. The term "cushion" is usually applied to woody plants that grow as spreading mats, are limited in height above the ground (a few inches at most), have relatively large and deep tap roots, and have life histories adapted to slow growth in a nutrient-poor environment with delayed reproductivity and reproductive cycle adaptations.[1] The plant form is an example of parallel or convergent evolution with species from many different plant families on different continents converging on the same evolutionary adaptations to endure the harsh environmental conditions.[2]
^Malcolm, Bill; Nancy Malcolm (1988). New Zealand's Alpine Plants Inside and Out. Wellington, NZ: Kel Aiken Printing Company. pp. 61–68. ISBN 0-908802-04-8.
^Went, F. W. (1971). Parallel evolution. Taxon, 20(2/3): 197-226.
A cushionplant is a compact, low-growing, mat-forming plant that is found in alpine, subalpine, arctic, or subarctic environments around the world. The...
Tasmanian cushionplants are low growing, highly compact, woody, spreading mats that can grow up to 3 m in diameter, located mainly on the island of Tasmania...
yareta, from yarita in the Quechua language) is a velvety, chartreuse cushionplant in the family Apiaceae which is native to South America. It grows in...
plant in the carnation family Caryophyllaceae. It is also called the compass plant, since the flowers appear first on the south side of the cushion....
New Zealand liĬverwort, Plagiochila gigantea (Jungermaniaceae) is a cushionplant up to three feet (91 centimeters) in width and up to 2.5 feet (75 centimeters)...
granadensis, also known as coral bead plant, pin-cushionplant,[citation needed] coral moss, or English baby tears, is a plant with orange berries, of the genus...
Donatia is a genus of two cushionplant species in the family Stylidiaceae. The name commemorates Vitaliano Donati, an Italian botanist. Donatia has been...
as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial grasses, sedges, forbs, cushionplants, mosses, and lichens. Alpine plants are adapted...
forsteroides, commonly known as the Tasmanian cushionplant, is an angiosperm endemic to Tasmania, Australia. The plant is a dicot species in the daisy family...
the abundance and diversity of plant assemblages growing within cushionplants, or cushions. Cushionplants are plants that grow a few inches in height...
A pteridophyte is a vascular plant (with xylem and phloem) that reproduces by means of spores. Because pteridophytes produce neither flowers nor seeds...
Tasmania also features a diverse alpine garden environment, such as cushionplant. Highland areas receive consistent snowfall above ~1,000 metres every...
Icerya purchasi (common name: cottony cushion scale) is a scale insect that feeds on more than 80 families of woody plants, most notably on Citrus and Pittosporum...
alpine climate and ecology. Very few plants grow near the summit: one example is the sky pilot, a cushionplant that grows low to the ground. The only...
Azorella selago is a species of cushionplant native to the sub-Antarctic islands of the Southern Ocean, including the Crozet Islands, the Possession...
Feldmark plant communities are characterised by scattered dwarf and prostrate plants, up to about 25 cm (10 in) in height, often with a mat or cushion habit...
International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT) is an organization established to promote an understanding of plant biodiversity, facilitate international...
and the alpine plants there. Fellfields are typically populated by cushionplants: perennials that grow close to the ground. Cushionplants are well-adapted...
plants in the family Solanaceae, native to Patagonia in southern South America. Its species have been described as "attractive, small, cushionplants"...
for a short growing season. Some Arctic plants grow close to the ground as cushionplants, which keep the plants close to the warm soil and shield the tender...
although they die back to the ground when grown where winters are colder. Cushionplant Subshrub Stewart, p. 114 Stewart, p. 110 Stewart, p. 102 Stewart, p...
macquariensis, also known as Macquarie azorella or Macquarie cushions, is a species of cushionplant endemic to Australia’s subantarctic Macquarie Island. It...
Patagonian region. Some of the dominant plant species of the Pre-Andean shrubland are Mulinum spinosum (a cushionplant) and Escallonia rubra, which are frequently...
grow close to the ground, including perennial grasses, sedges, forbs, cushionplants, mosses, and lichens. The flora is adapted to the harsh conditions of...
extremely diverse, composed of trees, shrubs, subshrubs, mat-plants, cushionplants, rosette plants, and lianas. The silversword alliance is named for its most...
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