How does a biennial plant differ from an annual plant?

Biennial plants are characterized by their life cycle, which spans two growing seasons. During the first year, they typically germinate and develop a rosette of leaves while focusing on root and vegetative growth. The key point is that they do not flower or produce seeds during this first year. Instead, they enter a period of dormancy or minimal growth. In the second year, biennials resume growth, flower, and reproduce before completing their life cycle and dying.

This distinction is crucial when comparing them to annual plants, which complete their entire life cycle—germination, growth, flowering, and seed production—within a single growing season. Therefore, the information provided about biennials distinctly completing their life cycle in two years is the core reason why this choice is accurate.

Options discussing biennials growing only in winter or being larger than annuals do not reflect the fundamental biological and ecological traits of biennial plants, making them less relevant in this context.