Hostas
Hostas
Hosta
Plantae
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
Perennial
Size
Small
Diet
Photosynthetic
Biome
Temperate deciduous forest
Range
Northeast Asia
Movement
Sessile
Breeding
Seeds
Defense
Toxins
Status
Common

About

A shade-loving perennial grown mainly for its broad, ribbed foliage rather than its flowers, with leaves ranging from blue-green to gold and often variegated with white or cream margins. Despite their popularity in ornamental gardens, hostas are a favorite target of slugs, snails, and deer, which can strip a clump's leaves overnight.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    seed
    A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
  2. 2.
    sprout
    A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
  3. 3.
    sapling
    A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
  4. 4.
    mature
    Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Class
Liliopsida
Order
Asparagales
Family
Asparagaceae
Genus
Hosta