94 TREE. SHRUB. UNDER-SHRUB. HERB. 



Under- Shrub, and Herb, which are frequently em- 

 ployed by botanists. 



TREES bear flowers for several years in succes- 

 sion, and send up a lofty trunk, divided at the top 

 into many branches. 



A SHRUB is like a small tree ; with a woody 

 stem, which lasts many years, but begins to be 

 divided into branches near the ground. 



An UNDER SHRUB is described by Decandolle, 

 a French botanist, as a plant of whose stems the 

 lower part only is woody ; but the upper part, 

 being of an herbaceous nature, dies every year. 



HERBS, or HERBACEOUS PLANTS, have soft, not 

 woody, stems. If they bear leaves and seeds within 

 one year arid then die, they are called Annuals ; 

 when they bear leaves in the first year, and flowers 

 in the second, and then die, they are Biennials ; 

 and if they live and flower for more than two years, 

 they are called Perennials. 



The Oak and Horse-Chestnut are trees; Myrtle 

 and Privet are shrubs; Candy-tuft is an under 

 shrub; Parsley and Mint are herbs. 



Climate and cultivation have great effect upon 

 the growth and duration of all plants ; so that, in 

 warm climates, the shrubs of cold countries attain 

 the size of trees ; and, in a few instances, even 

 herbaceous plants become as large as the trees in 

 our orchards. On the contrary, the trees of warm 

 or temperate climates dwindle into shrubs in cold 



