= perennial, adj. (in various senses). rare after 17th cent.

Frequently in the names of plants. Of a plant or part of a plant: perennial. Now rare.

Of plants, their roots, etc.: remaining alive for a number of years; spec. designating a herbaceous plant that dies down above ground and sends…

Of plants; †spec., perennial.

Botany. = rhizocarpous adj. (a) at rhizo-, comb._form affix. Now rare.

(a) having a perennial root but an annual stem (rare); †(b) bearing flowers and fruit on or near the root (obsolete rare).

Horticulture. Of certain plant varieties (as of rose, carnation, or strawberry): flowering or fruiting more or less continuously through the…

Botany. Of a plant or part of a plant: that perennates.