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A broom shrub in flower

A rhododendron shrubbery in Sheringham Park

A shrub or bush is a small- to medium-sized woody plant. Unlike herbs, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple stems and shorter height, and are usually under 6 m (20 ft) tall.^[1] Plants of many species may grow either into shrubs or trees, depending on their growing conditions. Small, low shrubs, generally less than 2 m (6.6 ft) tall, such as lavender, periwinkle and most small garden varieties of rose, are often termed "subshrubs".^[2]

Use in parks[edit]

Euonymus bushes in a garden

An area of cultivated shrubs in a park or a garden is known as a shrubbery.^[3] When clipped as topiary, suitable species or varieties of shrubs develop dense foliage and many small leafy branches growing close together.^[4] Many shrubs respond well to renewal pruning, in which hard cutting back to a "stool" results in long new stems known as "canes".^{[clarification needed]} Other shrubs respond better to selective pruning to reveal their structure and character.

Shrubs in common garden practice are generally considered broad-leaved plants, though some smaller conifers such as mountain pine and common juniper are also shrubby in structure. Species that grow into a shrubby habit may be either deciduous or evergreen.^[5]

Botanical structure[edit]

Shrub vegetation (with some cactus) in Webb County, Texas.

Blackthorn shrub (Prunus spinosa) in the Vogelsberg

Hydrangea macrophylla

Winter-flowering Witch-hazel (Hamamelis)

In botany and ecology, a shrub is more specifically used to describe the particular physical structural or plant life-form of woody plants which are less than 8 metres (26 ft) high and usually have many stems arising at or near the base. For example, a descriptive system widely adopted in Australia is based on structural characteristics based on life-form, plus the height and amount of foliage cover of the tallest layer or dominant species.^[6]

For shrubs 2–8 metres (6.6–26.2 ft) high the following structural forms are categorized:

• dense foliage cover (70–100%) — closed-shrub
  


• mid-dense foliage cover (30–70%) — open-shrub
  


• sparse foliage cover (10–30%) — tall shrubland
  


• very sparse foliage cover (<10%) — tall open shrubland
  

For shrubs less than 2 metres (6.6 ft) high the following structural forms are categorized:

• dense foliage cover (70–100%) — closed-heath or closed low shrubland—(North America)


• mid-dense foliage cover (30–70%) — open-heath or mid-dense low shrubland—(North America)


• sparse foliage cover (10–30%) — low shrubland
  


• very sparse foliage cover (<10%) — low open shrubland
  

List of shrubs (bushes)[edit]

Those marked with * can also develop into tree form.

References[edit]