Plants can be classified in many ways, one of the most widely used classifications due to the adult size they reach. Even so, it is normal that doubts arise about what is a grass, a bush and a tree, since sometimes you can find definitions that differ a bit between them.
What exactly are those three types of plants? Which are your principal characteristics? I will talk to you about all this and more below.
What is a tree?
A tree is a plant with a woody stem that branches off at a certain height from the ground.. At what height? Well, it will depend on who you ask 🙂: some say at two meters, others at three, and others at five meters. Who to believe? Although you may not like my answer, all of them, for the simple reason that there are many species and not all reach the same height.
Taller species generally branch high above the ground, such as redwood for example. This conifer reaches over 100 meters, and you will not see -in adult specimens- low branches unless you look up and pose it 30 meters or more above the trunk. On the contrary, the almond It only grows to 7-7 meters and branches very soon, more or less at 2 meters.
But other than this, a tree is a plant that is at least 5 meters tall and has a clear apical dominance, which results in a crown that is separated from the ground. In addition, the trunk measures at least 30cm in circumference.
What is a bush?
A shrub is a plant that, many times, appears to be a small tree but that differs from it by have a trunk that branches from the very base or from very few centimeters above the ground. They can reach heights not exceeding 4 meters or 4,5m, the most common being between 0,50cm and 2 meters.
Even so, it must be known that not all woody plants that branch from the base of the trunk are shrubs; in fact, there are several, such as thyme or lavender essence which are called subshrubs, popularly known as bushes or dwarf shrubs. These grow up to 20cm, rarely 1m, and have branches that develop at or very low ground level.
What is an herb?
Herbs are the plant beings that have had the most evolutionary success - and are having. We can find them practically all over the globe, and I would not be surprised if they were ultimately the great survivors in the event of a major global catastrophe. But how are they?
Well, they are plants that do not have decidedly woody stems. Their predominant color is green, and in addition, when they bear fruit, they generally produce a lot of seeds, bulbs or suckers. that sprout from a rhizome as the case may be. Likewise, you should know that there are two types depending on the type of leaf: graminoids, which are those with narrow leaves, and forbias, with wide leaves. Within this last group there is also another: megaforbias.
What are megaforbias? The giant grasses, like the Musesbananas, banana trees) or palms. They can easily exceed 10 meters, hence they are often mistaken for trees even though they have nothing to do with each other; What's more, while trees are dicotyledonous plants, herbs are monocotyledonous, which means, among other things, that you can read here, that when germinating only a single cotyledon sprouts.
As a curiosity, in the language of the people, any plant is known as grass or yerba, whether woody or not, whether it has a tree shape or not, whose leaves or tender shoots are used in the kitchen to prepare various recipes or to treat diseases.
Do you already know what a tree, a bush and a grass are? If you still have doubts, you already know that you can ask us. 🙂
Thanks, it's interesting.
We are glad that it was of interest to you
Hello Monica, first thanks for the article, it has helped me a lot for a project that I am doing and secondly I would like to know in what year you wrote this article
Thank you
Sorry, I already found it, I had not seen the date
HOW ARE HERBS MEASURED?
Hi Sebastian.
Herbs are characterized by having non-woody stems; that is, they do not have wood. In addition, its root system is superficial.
All this facilitates their identification.
I tell you this because, rather than being measured, we observe which parts they produce (leaves, stems, roots, flowers, fruits) and what each one of them is like.
Greetings.
What function does the bush and grass do?
Hello, what class would cacti go in? Grass, bush, tree?
Hi Naty.
Cacti are succulent plants, that is, they store water in the stem, root and / or leaves to be able to overcome the drought that exists in the places where they originate.
Depending on the cactus, they can have arboreal bearing, like the saguaro; or shrubby, like opuntia. But that does not mean that they are trees or shrubs. They actually have more in common with herbs.
Greetings.