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.
20-425: A bush or shrub is a small or medium woody plant. Bush or Bushes may also refer to: Shrub Some define a shrub as less than 6 m (20 ft) and a tree as over 6 m. Others use 10 m (33 ft) as the cutoff point for classification. Many trees do not reach this mature height because of hostile, less than ideal growing conditions, and resemble shrub-sized plants. Others in such species have
40-466: A " stool ", removes everything but vital parts of the plant, resulting in long new stems known as "canes". Other shrubs respond better to selective pruning to dead or unhealthy, or otherwise unattractive parts 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
60-547: A blue waxy coating; they are spherical, 4–12 mm ( 5 ⁄ 32 – 15 ⁄ 32 in) diameter, and usually have three (occasionally six) fleshy fused scales, each scale with a single seed. The seeds are dispersed when birds eat the cones, digesting the fleshy scales and passing the hard, unwinged seeds in their droppings. The juniper berry oil is composed largely of monoterpene hydrocarbons such as α-pinene , myrcene , sabinene , limonene and β-pinene . As to be expected from its wide range, J. communis
80-577: A century ago) is called a shrubbery , shrub border or shrub garden. There are many garden cultivars of shrubs, bred for flowering, for example rhododendrons , and sometimes even leaf colour or shape. Compared to trees and herbaceous plants, a small number of shrubs have culinary usage. Apart from the several berry -bearing species (using the culinary rather than botanical definition), few are eaten directly, and they are generally too small for much timber use unlike trees. Those that are used include several perfumed species such as lavender and rose , and
100-619: A distinct species J. sibirica Burgsd. (syn. J. nana Willd., J. alpina S.F.Gray). The species has the largest geographical range of any woody plant , with a circumpolar distribution throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic south in mountains to around 30°N latitude in North America, Europe and Asia. Relict populations can be found in the Atlas Mountains of Africa. J. communis
120-456: A reasonable length beforehand. Many trees can grow in multiple stemmed forms also while being tall enough to be trees, such as oak or ash . An area of cultivated shrubs in a park or a garden is known as a shrubbery . When clipped as topiary , suitable species or varieties of shrubs develop dense foliage and many small leafy branches growing close together. Many shrubs respond well to renewal pruning , in which hard cutting back to
140-517: A shrubby habit may be either deciduous or evergreen . In botany and ecology , a shrub is more specifically used to describe the particular physical canopy structure or plant life-form of woody plants which are less than 8 metres (26 ft) high and usually multiple stems arising at or near the surface of the ground. For example, a descriptive system widely adopted in Australia is based on structural characteristics based on life-form, plus
160-590: A strong taste, they should be used sparingly. They are generally used to enhance meat with a strong flavour, such as game , including game birds, or tongue . The cones are used to flavour certain beers and gin (the word "gin" derives from an Old French word meaning "juniper"). In Finland , juniper is used as a key ingredient in making sahti , a traditional Finnish ale. Also the Slovak alcoholic beverage Borovička and Dutch Jenever are flavoured with juniper berry or its extract. Archaeological evidence suggests that
180-595: A wide range of plants with medicinal uses. Tea and coffee are on the tree-shrub boundary; they are normally harvested from shrub-sized plants, but these would be large enough to become small trees if left to grow instead. Shrubs are perennial woody plants, and therefore have persistent woody stems above ground (compare with succulent stems of herbaceous plants ). Usually, shrubs are distinguished from trees by their height and multiple stems. Some shrubs are deciduous (e.g. hawthorn ) and others evergreen (e.g. holly ). Ancient Greek philosopher Theophrastus divided
200-461: Is highly variable, with several infraspecific taxa; delimitation between the taxa is still uncertain, with genetic data not matching morphological data well. Some botanists treat subsp. alpina at the lower rank of variety, in which case the correct name is J. communis var. saxatilis Pallas, though the name J. communis var. montana is also occasionally cited; others, primarily in eastern Europe and Russia, sometimes treat it as
220-485: Is one of Ireland 's longest established plants. Juniperus communis is cultivated in the horticulture trade and used as an evergreen ornamental shrub in gardens . The following cultivars gained the Royal Horticultural Society 's Award of Garden Merit in 1993: Other cultivars in use include: It is too small to have any general lumber usage. In Scandinavia , however, juniper wood
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#1732765938653240-635: Is used for making containers for storing small quantities of dairy products such as butter and cheese , and also for making wooden butter knives. It was also frequently used for trenails in wooden shipbuilding by shipwrights for its tough properties. In Estonia juniper wood is valued for its long lasting and pleasant aroma, very decorative natural structure of wood (growth rings) as well as good physical properties of wood due to slow growth rate of juniper and resulting dense and strong wood. Various decorative items (often eating utensils) are common in most Estonian handicraft shops and households. According to
260-503: The common juniper , is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae . An evergreen conifer , it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant , with a circumpolar distribution throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere . Juniperus communis is highly variable in form, ranging from 10 metres (33 feet)—rarely 16 m (52 ft)—tall to a low, often prostrate spreading shrub in exposed locations. It has needle-like leaves in whorls of three;
280-401: The beer is brewed with juniper infusion instead of water, while in the other countries the juniper twigs are mainly used as filters to prevent the crushed malts from clogging the outlet of the lauter tun. The use of juniper in farmhouse brewing has been common in much of northern Europe, seemingly for a very long time. Juniper berries have long been used as medicine by many cultures including
300-422: The height and amount of foliage cover of the tallest layer or dominant species . For shrubs that are 2–8 metres (6.6–26.2 ft) high, the following structural forms are categorized: For shrubs less than 2 metres (6.6 ft) high, the following structural forms are categorized: Those marked with * can also develop into tree form if in ideal conditions. Common juniper Juniperus communis ,
320-768: The leaves are green, with a single white stomatal band on the inner surface. It never attains the scale-like adult foliage of other members of the genus. It is dioecious , with male and female cones on separate plants so requiring wind pollination to transfer pollen from male to female cones. Male trees or shrubs naturally live longer than female trees or shrubs; a male tree or shrub can live more than 2000 years. The male cones are yellow, 2–3 millimetres ( 3 ⁄ 32 – 1 ⁄ 8 in) long, and fall soon after shedding their pollen in March–April. The fruit are berry -like cones known as juniper berries . They are initially green, ripening in 18 months to purple-black with
340-649: The old tradition, on Easter Monday Kashubian (Northern Poland) boys chase girls whipping their legs gently with juniper twigs. This is to bring good fortune in love to the chased girls. Juniper wood, especially burl wood, is frequently used to make knife handles for French pocketknives such as the Laguiole . Its astringent blue-black seed cones, commonly known as juniper berries, are too bitter to eat raw and are usually sold dried and used to flavour meats , sauces , and stuffings . They are generally crushed before use to release their flavour. Since juniper berries have
360-543: The plant world into trees, shrubs and herbs. 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 as subshrubs . Most definitions characterize shrubs as possessing multiple stems with no main trunk below. This is because the stems have branched below ground level. There are exceptions to this, with some shrubs having main trunks, but these tend to be very short and divide into multiple stems close to ground level without
380-557: The potential to grow taller in ideal conditions. For longevity, most shrubs are classified between perennials and trees. Some only last about five years in good conditions. Others, usually larger and more woody, live beyond 70. On average, they die after eight years. Shrubland is the natural landscape dominated by various shrubs; there are many distinct types around the world, including fynbos , maquis , shrub-steppe , shrub swamp and moorland . In gardens and parks, an area largely dedicated to shrubs (now somewhat less fashionable than
400-407: The use of juniper in brewing may date back to at least the early medieval period. Juniper remains have been found at migration period and early Merovingian sites in southwestern Germany, indicating it may have been used to flavor beverages like beer as early as the 3rd to 6th centuries AD. Juniper is used in the traditional farmhouse ales of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Latvia. In Norway,
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