Subshrub

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Lavandula stoechas Lavandula-stoechas-habitat1.JPG
Lavandula stoechas
Linnaea borealis Linnaea borealis.jpg
Linnaea borealis

A subshrub (Latin suffrutex) or undershrub is either a small shrub (e.g. prostrate shrubs) or a perennial that is largely herbaceous but slightly woody at the base (e.g. garden pink and florist's chrysanthemum). [1] The term is often interchangeable with "bush". [2]

Contents

Because the criteria are matters of degree (normally of height) rather than of kind, the definition of a subshrub is not sharply distinguishable from that of a shrub; examples of reasons for describing plants as subshrubs include ground-hugging stems or low growth habit. Subshrubs may be largely herbaceous though still classified as woody, with overwintering perennial woody growth much lower-growing than deciduous summer growth. Some plants described as subshrubs are only weakly woody and some persist for only a few years. Others, such as Oldenburgia paradoxa live indefinitely (though is still vulnerable to external effects), rooted in rocky cracks.

Small, low shrubs such as lavender, periwinkle, and thyme, and many shrub-like members of the family Ericaceae, such as cranberries and small species of Erica , are often classed as subshrubs.

Definition

A chamaephyte, subshrub or dwarf-shrub is a plant that bears hibernating buds on persistent shoots near the ground – usually woody plants with perennating buds borne close to the ground, usually less than 25 centimetres (9.8 in) above the soil surface. The significance of the closeness to the ground is that the buds remain within the soil surface layer and are thus somewhat protected from various adverse external influences. Accordingly, the chamaephyte habit is especially common in stressful environments, for example:

Examples of chamaephytes

The term chamaephyte is most formally used within the context of Raunkiær plant life-forms' classification. Examples of chamaephytes are many of the species living in the maquis shrubland and other plants of submediterranean dry ecosystems (species such as thyme, Thymus vulgaris , and rosemary, Salvia rosmarinus ); others include heather species (e.g. Calluna vulgaris and Ericas ), African wild olive ( Olea europaea ssp. cuspidata) and edelweiss ( Leontopodium alpinum ). Chamaephytes also include cushion plants. [7]

See also

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In botany, a plant shoot consists of any plant stem together with its appendages like leaves, lateral buds, flowering stems, and flower buds. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop. In the spring, perennial plant shoots are the new growth that grows from the ground in herbaceous plants or the new stem or flower growth that grows on woody plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shrub</span> Small- to medium-sized perennial wood plant

A shrub or bush is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple stems and shorter height, less than 6–10 m (20–33 ft) tall. Small shrubs, less than 2 m (6.6 ft) tall are sometimes termed as subshrubs. Many botanical groups have species that are shrubs, and others that are trees and herbaceous plants instead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evergreen</span> Plant that has leaves in all seasons

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deciduous</span> Plants that shed leaves seasonally

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Groundcover</span> Plant with low spreading growth

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbaceous plant</span> Plant that has no persistent woody stem above ground

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<i>Thymus serpyllum</i> Species of plant

Thymus serpyllum, known by the common names of Breckland thyme, Breckland wild thyme, wild thyme, creeping thyme, or elfin thyme, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to most of Europe and North Africa. It is a low, usually prostrate subshrub growing to 2 cm (1 in) tall with creeping stems up to 10 cm (4 in) long. The oval evergreen leaves are 3–8 mm long. The strongly scented flowers are either lilac, pink-purple, magenta, or a rare white, all 4–6 mm long and produced in clusters. The hardy plant tolerates some pedestrian traffic and produces odors ranging from heavily herbal to lightly lemon, depending on the variety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raunkiær plant life-form</span> Types of plant form as defined by Christen Raunkiær

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basal shoot</span> Shoot growing from an adventitious bud

Basal shoots, root sprouts, adventitious shoots, and suckers are words for various kinds of shoots that grow from adventitious buds on the base of a tree or shrub, or from adventitious buds on its roots. Shoots that grow from buds on the base of a tree or shrub are called basal shoots; these are distinguished from shoots that grow from adventitious buds on the roots of a tree or shrub, which may be called root sprouts or suckers. A plant that produces root sprouts or runners is described as surculose. Water sprouts produced by adventitious buds may occur on the above-ground stem, branches or both of trees and shrubs. Suckers are shoots arising underground from the roots some distance from the base of a tree or shrub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habit (biology)</span> Botany

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woody plant</span> Plant that produces wood and has a hard stem

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostrate shrub</span> Shrub with a trailing habit

A prostrate shrub is a woody plant, most of the branches of which lie upon or just above the ground, rather than being held erect as are the branches of most trees and shrubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herb</span> Plant used for food, medicine or perfume

In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distinguishes herbs from spices. Herbs generally refers to the leafy green or flowering parts of a plant, while spices are usually dried and produced from other parts of the plant, including seeds, bark, roots and fruits.

References

  1. Harris, James G.; Harris, Melinda Woolf (2001). Plant identification terminology: an illustrated glossary (2nd ed.). Spring Lake, Utah: Spring Lake Publishing. p. 117.
  2. Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. London, 4th ed 1928
  3. Raymond Louis Specht (1 February 1981). Heathlands and related shrublands: analytical studies. Elsevier Scientific Pub. Co. ISBN   9780444418098. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  4. Dennis M. Gorsuch; Steven F. Oberbauer; Jack B. Fisher; Dennis M. Gorsuch; Steven F. Oberbauer; Jack B. Fisher (2001), "Comparative Vessel Anatomy of Arctic Deciduous and Evergreen Dicots", American Journal of Botany, 88 (9): 1643–1649, doi:10.2307/3558409, JSTOR   3558409, PMID   21669698
  5. Fire in Mediterranean Ecosystems. Cambridge University Press. 2012. pp. 500–. ISBN   978-0-521-82491-0. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  6. Israel Journal of Botany. Weizmann Science Press of Israel. 1975. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  7. Molau, U.; Nordenhall, U.; Eriksen, B. (2005), "Onset of flowering and climate variability in an alpine landscape: a 10-year study from Swedish Lapland", American Journal of Botany, 92 (3): 422–31, doi: 10.3732/ajb.92.3.422 , PMID   21652418