Tony, I missed this post of your also but we seem to be thinking alike on this subject. Your point about how long it takes for the leafy bits to die off well illustrates the problem of developing an accurate and complete lexicography for these behaviors of plants. The practical use of these terms must be less strict than their technical definitions if they are to be of any help to us. Someone earlier mentioned hapaxanthic, a term I always thought sounded really cool. But it is somewhat archaic these days and is generally restricted in use for some palms and bamboos. One definition said that it covers plants that die after mass flowering but that it would not cover annuals, such as snapdragons, since they may bear flowers and seed capsules at the same time. You can't win. Dylan