Plant Types
1. Aquatic plants, hydrophytes, or hydrophytic plants, also
called water-loving plants:
Plants that are naturally adapted to growing in water or
waterlogged soil.
They may grow entirely or partly submerged, or floating on
the water surface, or with their roots anchored to the
ground in swamps or beside bodies of water.
They are able to thrive with watery places as their natural
habitat due to special morphological and anatomical
modifications mainly the presence of modified roots called
“pneumatophores” which are responsible for oxygen
absorption.
Those pointed structures which protrude upward in some
mangrove species (probably Sonneratia) during low tide
are pneumatophores.
Some crops belonging to this plant classification are gabi or
taro (Colocasia esculenta), lowland rice (Oryza sativa),
members of water hyacinth family (e.g. Monochoria
vaginalis), water lily (Nymphaea spp.), papyrus and
umbrella plant (Cyperus spp.), lotus (Nelumbo nucifera),
and bakawan (Rhizophora mucronata) and other mangrove
species.
2. Acidifuge or calcicole plants, also called chalk-
loving, lime-loving and acid-escaping plants:
Plants that prefer calcareous or alkaline soils or soils with
pH above 7.0.
The alfalfa (Medicago sativa), blazing star (Chamaelirium
luteum), and southern redcedar (Juniperus silisicola) are
grouped under this plant classification (Stiling, 1999).
3. Calcifuge or acidicole plants, also called chalk-
escaping, lime-hating, acidophilous, acid-loving, and acid
soil plants:
Those that prefer acidic soils or soils having pH levels
below 7.0 but do not tolerate alkaline (basic) or calcareous
soils.
Crop examples under this plant classification are the
Rhododendrons and azaleas which have a low lime
, requirement and can live in soils with ph levels of 4.0 or
less (Stiling, 1999).
4. Epiphytes or epiphytic plants, also called air
plants and tree dwellers:
Plants adapted to growing aboveground on another plant
but they are not parasitic.
They usually need the host only for physical support,
deriving their nutritional requirements from the air and
other sources.
Examples of common epiphytes are plants under the
family Bromyliaceae including the ornamental bromyliads,
and many plants belonging to the orchid and fern families.
5.A hemiepiphyte:
Plant which starts growing as an epiphyte but, as it
matures, becomes rooted to the soil. Example: strangler fig
(Ficus).
6. Halophytes or halophytic plants, also called salt loving
plants:
Plants that can tolerate growing under saline conditions or
in natural habitats which are excessively rich in salts.
Included under the halophytic plant classification are the
nipa (Nypa fruticans), talisay (Terminalia catappa),
bakawan (Rhizophora mucronata) and many other
mangrove species.
Coconut (Cocos nucifera), cashew (Anacardium
occidentale), jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) and
tamarind (Tamarindus indica) have varying tolerance to
salinity.
The common table salt is in fact used as a fertilizer for
coconut.
6. Heliophytes or heliophytic plants, also called sun-loving
plants:
Those that require for their optimum growth full exposure
to the sun.
Examples are coconut, mango (Mangifera indica),
sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), corn (Zea mays).
This plant classification applies more to the xerophytic
plants.
