off-topic botanical question: Curious about shrubs as a gardening term

Marguerite English meenglis@meenglis.cts.com
Sat, 05 Jan 2008 22:01:35 PST
I have been doing some studying about garden terms and have a botanical 
question.   I was looking at Phygelius information and it was identified 
as a shrub.  I had previously called it a perennial.  So what 
differentiates a shrub from other perennials?  I noticed some authors 
by-pass this problem by calling certain plants  "sub-shrubs."  And how 
does something like Yucca or Hesperaloe fit in?  Are they shrubs also, 
even though they are succulent?  

    Thanks for considering this...           Marguerite, still growing 
mostly Iridaceae and Zephyranthes, and developing a new cottage-like 
garden for my local arid, dry and windy planting conditions at 3700 feet 
in southern California mountains.


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