annual
n. countablen. a plant that lives for only one year or one growing season. You have to plant new ones every spring because they do not come back on their own.
n. a plant that completes its entire life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one year and then dies. Also refers to a book or magazine published once a year under the same title.
Sunflowers are a popular annual in many gardens.
The gardener prefers planting an annual like the marigold because it provides bright color all summer long.
While perennials return year after year from the same root system, an annual must be replanted annually as it exhausts its life cycle in a single season.
First attested around 1382, borrowed from Late Latin annuālem, annuālis, related to Latin annālis, adjective form of annus (“year”). Used to categorize plants since 1710.
Commonly used in gardening contexts to distinguish from 'perennials' or 'biennials'.