what is a perennial plant

A perennial plant is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. Perennials can be herbaceous, meaning they have little or no woody growth, or they can be trees and shrubs. Herbaceous perennials grow and bloom over the spring and summer, die back every autumn and winter, and then return in the spring from their rootstock or other overwintering structure. Perennials can be short-lived, only a few years, or long-lived. They include a wide assortment of plant groups from non-flowering plants like ferns and liverworts to the highly diverse flowering plants like orchids, grasses, and woody plants. Perennials are typically cold-hardy plants that will return again in the spring. They usually bloom for only one season each year, either spring, summer, or fall, but there are also reblooming and long-blooming perennials. Unlike annuals, which live for just one season, perennial plants live for more than two years. They mostly flower in spring, summer, or autumn, with a handful blooming in winter, and many have attractive foliage, too. Perennials are split into further categories such as herbaceous perennials, evergreen perennials, and hardy plants.