Have giant lobelias evolved several times independently? Life form shifts and historical biogeography of the cosmopolitan and highly diverse subfamily Lobelioideae (Campanulaceae)

Table 2 Characterization of life forms used in the ancestral state reconstructions (from Lammers [23]).

Life form	Stems	Buds
Aquatic	Comprises both Hydrophytes and Hydrohemicryptophytes
Chamaephyte	Herbaceous and/or woody and persistent	On or just above soil level but never more than 0.5 m above ground
Geophyte	Hemicryptophytes that survive unfavourable seasons in the form of a rhizome, bulb, tuber or root bud	Below soil level
Hemicryptophyte	Herbaceous, often dying back after the growing season but with buds or growth at soil level	Just on or below soil level
Herbaceous phanerophyte	Herbaceous and persisting for several years	Above soil level
Hydrophyte	Vegetative shoots entirely in water, the leaves usually submersed and/or floating; flower-bearing parts may emerge above the water	Permanently or temporarily on the bottom of the water
Nanophanerophyte	Woody and indefinitely persistent	Above soil level but normally less than 3 m above ground
Phanerophyte	Woody and indefinitely persistent	Normally 3 m or more above ground
Therophyte	Plants surviving unfavourable seasons in the form of seeds, completing their life-cycle during the favourable season

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