Frost resistance

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Frost resistance is the ability of plants to survive cold temperatures. Generally, land plants of the northern hemisphere have higher frost resistance than those of the southern hemisphere. [1] An example of a frost resistant plant is Drimys winteri which is more frost-tolerant than naturally occurring conifers and vessel-bearing angiosperms such as the Nothofagus that can be found in its range in southern South America. [2]

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Hardiness of plants describes their ability to survive adverse growing conditions. It is usually limited to discussions of climatic adversity. Thus a plant's ability to tolerate cold, heat, drought, flooding, or wind are typically considered measurements of hardiness. Hardiness of plants is defined by their native extent's geographic location: longitude, latitude and elevation. These attributes are often simplified to a hardiness zone. In temperate latitudes, the term most often describes resistance to cold, or "cold-hardiness", and is generally measured by the lowest temperature a plant can withstand.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autumn leaf color</span> Phenomenon that affects the leaves during autumn

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<i>Solanum commersonii</i> Species of plant in the genus Solanum

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Bannister</span> British-born New Zealand botanist

Peter Bannister was an English-born New Zealand botanist and academic.

References

  1. Bannister, Peter (2007). "Godley review: A touch of frost? Cold hardiness of plants in the southern hemisphere". New Zealand Journal of Botany : 1–33. doi: 10.1080/00288250709509700 .
  2. Feild, Taylor S.; Brodribb, Tim; Holbrook, N. Michele (2002). "Hardly a relict: Freezing and the evolution of vesselless wood in Winteraceae". Evolution . 56 (3): 464–478. doi:10.1111/j.0014-3820.2002.tb01359.x. PMID   11989678. S2CID   31376453.