Life-Form
The plants are classified according to the growth-point in the adverse season (winter, dry season).
A plant with its growth-point in the earth is called a geophyte.
A plant with its growth-point in the water is a hydrophyte. Hydrophytes and geophytes both are cryptophytes.
A plant with its growth-point just above the ground (often a rosette plant) is a hemicryptophyte.
A plant (small shrub) with its growth-point up to about 25 cm (which is in winter covered by snow) is a chamaephyte.
A shrub or tree with its growth-point higher up is a phanerophyte.
A plant that grows on another plant, is known as an epiphyte, this group can be considered a life-form of its own or part of the phanerophytes.
An annual plant that survives the adverse season only as a seed, is a therophyte.
