Herbaceous

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In botany, herbaceous refers to plants that have leaves and stems that die at the end of the growing season to the soil level. It includes both annual and perennial plants.

The term is often used in reference to perennial plants, which have stems that die at the end of the growing season and new growth forms from the roots or from underground stems or from crown tissue at the surface of the ground. Examples include bulbs, Peonies, Hosta and grasses.

Non-herbaceous perennial plants are woody plants which have stems above ground that remain alive during winter and grow shoots the next year from the above ground parts, including trees, shrubs and vines.

The root word is herb, which is used to describe an annual, biennial or perennial plant with stems that die back to the ground at the end of the growing season.

Herbaceous is a term some times also used to describe parts of plants including leaves, branches and stems that have leaf-like texture and color. When stems have been modified to act like leaves they are called Herbaceous - an example would be many Cactus which have modified stems that are flattened and green, the leaves have been reduced to spines. 'Soft and green with little woody tissue'.