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Trees and Shrubs

To the Wayfayer, Ye who would pass by and raise your hand against me, harken ere you harm me. I am the heat of your hearth on the cold winter nights; the friendly shade screening you from the summer sun; and my fruits are refreshing draughts, quenching your thirst as you journey on. I am the beam that holds your house, the board of your table, the bed on which you lie, and the timber that builds your boat. I am the handle of your hoe, the door of your homestead, the wood of your cradle, and the shell of your coffin. I am the bread of kindness and the flower of beauty. Ye who pass by, listen to my prayer; harm me not.

Prayer of a Tree, Alexander L. Howard, A Manual of the Timbers of the World, 1920)

Trees and Shrubs are just a visual way to separate plants by the way that they grow.  It is not a botanical definition. Wikipedia defines a tree as a “perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves.” A Shrub is just shorter with many branches. This means that you can transform a tree into a shrub or vice versa by careful pruning.

Some Plant Types are based on botanical differences (grasses, ferns, slime molds, fungus) while others are just arbitrary groups based on appearance (vines, trees, wildflowers) or popular interest (orchids, carnivorous plants).