Shrub
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience. Small, low shrubs such as lavender, periwinkle and thyme are often termed subshrubs.
A natural plant community dominated by shrubs is called a shrubland. The word bush can also refer to a type of plant community, as in the Australian bush. This is often characterised by scrubby, open woodland and is a generic term for Eucalyptus dominated woodland in particular.
An area of cultivated shrubs in a park or garden is known as a shrubbery. When clipped as topiary, shrubs generally have dense foliage and many small leafy branches growing close together. Many shrubs respond well to renewal pruning, in which hard cutting back to a 'stool' results in long new stems known as "canes". Other shrubs respond better to selective pruning to reveal their structure and character.
Shrubs in common garden practice are generally broad-leaved plants, though some smaller conifers such as Mountain Pine and Common Juniper are also shrubby in structure. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen.
[edit] List of shrubs (bushes)
Those marked * can also develop into tree form.
[edit] External links
- Selecting Shrubs for Your Home (University of Illinois Extension)
