Temporary Vegetation Community: Emphasis on Herbivores

Abstract

From the standpoint of herbivory by desert invertebrates, there are two broad groups of plants. One consists of ephemerals, the other of perennial shrubs and trees. We know the drought-evading ephemerals mainly as annuals such as the large number of composites and mustards that bloom quickly and then die, leaving only their seeds and their withered remains. But there are also many other ephemerals in the desert; they consist of deciduous perennial plants like many grasses and members of the Lilliaceae. Bulbs, rhizomes, and underground stems characterize deciduous perennials, which are also called “geophytes.”