Shrub
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. List of ShrubsIncomplete! Those marked * can also develop into tree form.
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