Dwarf shrub
Dwarf shrub ( Latin : Suffrutex) is the popular collective term for various woody, perennial plants . It is especially for very low-growing shrubs , half-shrubs used and bushes (up to 100 cm). Dwarf shrubs are characteristic of phrygana and garrigue , which are sometimes summarized under the term dwarf shrub vegetation .
Botanical classification
According to the botanical classifications, very different types of plants belong to the "dwarf shrubs". They generally have in common the growth form with woody shoot axes , related species in "normal size", as well as occurrence in extreme habitats such as tundra (dwarf shrub heaths), high mountains ( dwarf shrub heaths ) and desert (dwarf shrub semi- desert ). According to the Raunkiær classification, chamaephytes , hemicryptophytes and certainly some nanophanerophytes are counted among the dwarf shrubs . Dwarf shrubs are often characteristic of the biotope types in which they grow.
Use as ornamental plants
Dwarf shrubs are planted in garden design, for example, in the front yard , cottage garden and rock garden and can also act as ground cover . In the plant trade , the term “dwarf shrubs” is used in a broader sense and is often used in a misleading way.
Types (selection)
Characteristic species are (random selection): some species of the heather family , for example crowberries , whorl-leaved heather ( Erica manipuliflora ); Betula nana , Herb pasture , cotoneaster , lavender , Thorny gorse ( Genista acanthoclada ), Hairy gorse ( Calicotome villosa ), bush spurge ( Euphorbia acanthothamnos )
literature
- Urania plant kingdom. Leipzig, Jena, Berlin: Urania-Verlag ISBN 3-332-00367-4 ; Vegetation. Franz Fukarek , Helmut Hübel , Peter König (biologist) , Gerd K. Müller , Roland Schuster , Michael Succow 1995. ISBN 3-332-00550-2