Chamaephyte

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In the Raunkiær system for classifying plants, a chamaephyte is a plant whose growth-points (buds) survive seasons with adverse conditions (e.g., cold seasons, dry seasons) near the ground but not directly on it. Plants with regeneration buds on the soil surface are called hemicryptophytes. The distinction against Nanophanerophytes (like broom, juniper etc) is not always clear and remains (by a height of less than 10, 20 ... 100 cm ) arbitrary. Chamaephytes are especially important in stressful environments for example in alpine, arctic or dry ecosystems often in combination with herbivors and nutrient poor soils or on rocks. Prominent examples are thyme (Thymus vulgaris, submediterranean dry ecosystems), the different heather species (e.g. Calluna vulgaris, nutrient poor grazing systems) and edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum, alpine grasslands).