shrub

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The poisonous cork spindle , an Asian spindle bush
Flowering sloe bush ( Prunus spinosa )
Hydrangea ( Hydrangea macrophylla )

A shrub (also known as bush or small wood ) is a growth form of plants . In determination books it is symbolized by ♄ for " Saturn ".

Shrubs are woody plants with a basit ones habit . That is, they do not have a stem as their main axis, but they regularly (usually annually) form stems from buds close to the ground.

features

Shrubs are perennial woody plants that either cover the ground or grow upright. Shrubs can have several upright trunks with branches attached to leaves (or needles). They can be deciduous ( also: summer green ), semi- evergreen (also: winter green) or evergreen .

ecology

Shrubs are important breeding opportunities for birds . They are planted as hedges in parks and gardens . Many woody plants can exist as trees or shrubs, for example the hazelnut tree / shrub or the gray alder . Many shrubs, such as As the berries bushes form thorns , which protect them from bites.

Reproduction takes place via berries or nuts , and with the help of birds or mammals . Wind dispersal of the seeds is usually ruled out because of the low altitude. The nuts are buried by rodents , such as the squirrel , as winter supplies so that some can sprout, or they fall to the ground around the mother plant and form new plants there.

Flowering and covering shrubs

Ground-covering shrubs (dwarf shrubs)

See also

literature

  • Horst Bartels: Wood science. Introduction to dendrology. Ulmer, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-8252-1720-5 - Excellent introduction, consisting of a systematic part and a dictionary of dendrology.
  • Ulrich Hecker: BLV Handbook Trees and Shrubs. BLV Verlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-405-14738-7 - identification book and reference work in one.

Web links

Commons : Shrub  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: shrub  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rudolf Schubert & Wagner, Günther: Botanical dictionary. Stuttgart 2000, p. 59.