non-annual big-bangers

[Tim Dickinson]

     re semel- and iteroparity (kelly allred posting) and dick jensen's reply;
     i agree that bruce neil's reply is correct; some of the _other_ plants
     dick refers to are the wonderful, huge, "perennial" palms (e.g. corypha)
     that are semelparous, or in palm terminology, hapaxanthic (uhl &
     dransfield, genera palmarum 1987).  ditto, probably, the bamboos that
     after many years flower, fruit, and then die.  this terminology of
     reproduction lets us decouple our understanding of plant morphology and
     behavior from a terminology of temperate zone gardeners (with which there
     is nothing wrong, save when its limited scope can get in the way of
     understanding).  presumably some of you have heard maternity ward staff or
     others refer to new mothers-to-be as nulliparous.  cheers, ---tad.