SHRUB

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does shrub mean? 

• SHRUB (noun)
  The noun SHRUB has 1 sense:

1. a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems

  Familiarity information: SHRUB used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SHRUB (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

bush; shrub

Hypernyms ("shrub" is a kind of...):

ligneous plant; woody plant (a plant having hard lignified tissues or woody parts especially stems)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shrub"):

Catha edulis (a shrub that is cultivated by Arabs for its leaves which are chewed or used to make tea)

ephedra; joint fir (jointed and nearly leafless desert shrub having reduced scalelike leaves and reddish fleshy seeds)

alpine totara; Podocarpus nivalis (low wide-spreading coniferous shrub of New Zealand mountains)

Chilean rimu; Lepidothamnus fonkii (about the hardiest Podocarpaceae species; prostrate spreading shrub similar to mountain rimu; mountains of southern Chile)

Dacridium laxifolius; Lepidothamnus laxifolius; mountain rimu (low-growing to prostrate shrub with slender trailing branches; New Zealand)

Microstrobos niphophilus; Tasman dwarf pine (small shrub or Tasmania having short stiff branches)

barberry (any of numerous plants of the genus Berberis having prickly stems and yellow flowers followed by small red berries)

blue cohosh; blueberry root; Caulophyllum thalictrioides; Caulophyllum thalictroides; papoose root; papooseroot; squaw root; squawroot (tall herb of eastern North America and Asia having blue berrylike fruit and a thick knotty rootstock formerly used medicinally)

holly-leaves barberry; hollygrape; Mahonia aquifolium; mountain grape; Oregon grape; Oregon holly grape (ornamental evergreen shrub of Pacific coast of North America having dark green pinnate leaves and racemes of yellow flowers followed by blue-black berries)

Mahonia nervosa; Oregon grape (small shrub with grey-green leaves and yellow flowers followed by glaucous blue berries)

allspice (deciduous shrubs having aromatic bark; eastern China; southwestern and eastern United States)

Chimonanthus praecox; Japan allspice; Japanese allspice; winter sweet (deciduous Japanese shrub cultivated for its fragrant yellow flowers)

American spicebush; Benjamin bush; Benzoin odoriferum; Lindera benzoin; spice bush; spicebush (deciduous shrub of the eastern United States having highly aromatic leaves and bark and yellow flowers followed by scarlet or yellow berries)

pepper shrub; Pseudowintera colorata; Wintera colorata (evergreen shrub or small tree whose foliage is conspicuously blotched with red and yellow and having small black fruits)

Myrica gale; Scotch gale; sweet gale (bog shrub of north temperate zone having bitter-tasting fragrant leaves)

wax myrtle (any shrub or small tree of the genus Myrica with aromatic foliage and small wax-coated berries)

Comptonia asplenifolia; Comptonia peregrina; sweet fern (deciduous shrub of eastern North America with sweet scented fernlike leaves and tiny white flowers)

corkwood; corkwood tree; Leitneria floridana (very small deciduous dioecious tree or shrub of damp habitats in southeastern United States having extremely light wood)

mimosa (any of various tropical shrubs or trees of the genus Mimosa having usually yellow flowers and compound leaves)

Anadenanthera colubrina; Piptadenia macrocarpa (Brazilian shrub having twice-pinnate leaves and small spicate flowers followed by flat or irregularly torulose pods; sometimes placed in genus Piptadenia)

calliandra (any of various shrubs and small trees valued for their fine foliage and attractive spreading habit and clustered white to deep pink or red flowers)

Lysiloma sabicu; sabicu (West Indian tree yielding a hard dark brown wood resembling mahogany in texture and value)

black bead; cat's-claw; catclaw; Pithecellobium unguis-cati (erect shrub with small if any spines having racemes of white to yellow flowers followed by curved pointed pods and black shiny seeds; West Indies and Florida)

mesquit; mesquite (any of several small spiny trees or shrubs of the genus Prosopis having small flowers in axillary cylindrical spikes followed by large pods rich in sugar)

Acocanthera oblongifolia; Acocanthera spectabilis; poison arrow plant; winter sweet (medium-sized shrubby tree of South Africa having thick leathery evergreen leaves and white or pink flowers and globose usually two-seeded purplish black fruits)

Acocanthera oppositifolia; Acocanthera venenata; bushman's poison; ordeal tree (evergreen shrub or tree of South Africa)

Adenium multiflorum; Adenium obesum; desert rose; impala lily; kudu lily; mock azalia (South African shrub having a swollen succulent stem and bearing showy pink and white flowers after the leaves fall; popular as an ornamental in tropics)

carissa (a shrub of the genus Carissa having fragrant white flowers and plumlike red to purple-black fruits)

frangipani; frangipanni (any of various tropical American deciduous shrubs or trees of the genus Plumeria having milky sap and showy fragrant funnel-shaped variously colored flowers)

rauvolfia; rauwolfia (any shrub or small tree of the genus Rauwolfia having leaves in whorls and cymose flowers; yield substances used medicinally especially as emetics or purgatives or antihypertensives)

strophanthus (any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus Strophanthus having whorled leaves and showy flowers of various colors in dense and corymbose clusters; some have poisonous seeds)

Adam's apple; coffee rose; crape jasmine; crepe gardenia; crepe jasmine; East Indian rosebay; Nero's crown; pinwheel flower; Tabernaemontana divaricate (tropical shrub having glossy foliage and fragrant nocturnal flowers with crimped or wavy corollas; northern India to Thailand)

Thevetia neriifolia; Thevetia peruviana; yellow oleander (tropical American shrub or small tree having glossy dark green leaves and fragrant saffron yellow to orange or peach- colored flowers; all parts highly poisonous)

American angelica tree; Aralia spinosa; devil's walking stick; Hercules'-club (small deciduous clump-forming tree or shrub of eastern United States)

Aralia elata; Japanese angelica tree (deciduous clump-forming Asian shrub or small tree; adventive in the eastern United States)

Aralia stipulata; Chinese angelica; Chinese angelica tree (similar to American angelica tree but less prickly; China)

Brassaia actinophylla; Schefflera actinophylla; umbrella tree (erect evergreen shrub or small tree of Australia and northern New Guinea having palmately compound leaves)

Batis maritima; saltwort (low-growing strong-smelling coastal shrub of warm parts of the New World having unisexual flowers in conelike spikes and thick succulent leaves)

saltbush (any of various shrubby plants of the genus Atriplex that thrive in dry alkaline soil)

Bassia scoparia; belvedere; burning bush; fire-bush; fire bush; Kochia scoparia; summer cypress (densely branched Eurasian plant; foliage turns purple-red in autumn)

Cycloloma atriplicifolium; tumbleweed; winged pigweed (bushy annual weed of central North America having greenish flowers and winged seeds)

barilla; glasswort; kali; kelpwort; Salsola kali; Salsola soda; saltwort (bushy plant of Old World salt marshes and sea beaches having prickly leaves; burned to produce a crude soda ash)

Russian cactus; Russian thistle; Russian tumbleweed; Salsola kali tenuifolia; tumbleweed (prickly bushy Eurasian plant; a troublesome weed in central and western United States)

black greasewood; greasewood; Sarcobatus vermiculatus (low hardy much-branched spiny shrub common in alkaline soils of western America)

caper (any of numerous plants of the genus Capparis)

Biscutalla laevigata; buckler mustard (plant of southeastern Europe having yellow flowers like those of mustard and pods with open valves resembling bucklers)

bush poppy; tree poppy (evergreen shrub of southwestern United States and Mexico often cultivated for its fragrant golden yellow flowers)

Argyroxiphium sandwicense; silversword (low-growing plant found only in volcanic craters on Hawaii having rosettes of narrow pointed silver-green leaves and clusters of profuse red-purple flowers on a tall stem)

artemisia (any of various composite shrubs or herbs of the genus Artemisia having aromatic green or greyish foliage)

Baccharis halimifolia; consumption weed; cotton-seed tree; groundsel bush; groundsel tree (a shrub of salt marshes of eastern and south central North America and West Indies; fruit is surrounded with white plumelike hairy tufts)

Baccharis viminea; mule fat (California shrub with slender leafy shoots that are important browse for mule deer)

Baccharis pilularis; chaparral broom; coyote brush; coyote bush; kidney wort (widely spreading evergreen shrub of southwestern United States with flower heads in a leafy panicle)

goldenbush (any of various much-branched yellow-flowered shrubs of the genus Chrysothamnus; western North America)

Hazardia cana; hoary golden bush (western American shrubs having white felted foliage and yellow flowers that become red-purple)

mutisia (any of various plants of the genus Mutisia)

daisy-bush; daisy bush; daisybush (any of various mostly Australian attractively shaped shrubs of the genus Olearia grown for their handsome and sometimes fragrant evergreen foliage and profusion of daisy flowers with white or purple or blue rays)

othonna (a South African plant of the genus Othonna having smooth often fleshy leaves and heads of yellow flowers)

lavender cotton; Santolina chamaecyparissus (branching aromatic Mediterranean shrub with woolly stems and leaves and yellow flowers)

Cineraria maritima; dusty miller; Senecio cineraria (stiff much-branched perennial of the Mediterranean region having very white woolly stems and leaves)

milk thistle; sow thistle (any of several Old World coarse prickly-leaved shrubs and subshrubs having milky juice and yellow flowers; widely naturalized; often noxious weeds in cultivated soil)

Ardisia crenata; coralberry; spiceberry (shrub with coral-red berries; Japan to northern India)

Ardisia escallonoides; Ardisia paniculata; marlberry (tropical American shrub or small tree with brown wood and dark berries)

leadwort; Plumbago europaea (a plant of the genus Plumbago with blue flowers)

bracelet wood; Jacquinia armillaris (small West Indian shrub or tree with hard glossy seeds patterned yellow and brown that are used to make bracelets)

barbasco; Jacquinia keyensis; joewood (West Indian shrub or small tree having leathery saponaceous leaves and extremely hard wood)

mallow (any of various plants of the family Malvaceae)

cotton; cotton plant (erect bushy mallow plant or small tree bearing bolls containing seeds with many long hairy fibers)

Lavatera arborea; tree mallow; velvet-leaf; velvetleaf (arborescent perennial shrub having palmately lobed furry leaves and showy red-purple flowers; southwestern United States)

pavonia (any of various evergreen plants of the genus Pavonia having white or yellow or purple flowers)

bush hibiscus; Hibiscus farragei; Radyera farragei (southern and western Australian shrub with unlobed or shallowly lobed toothed leaves and purple flowers; sometimes placed in genus Hibiscus)

Aristotelia racemosa; Aristotelia serrata; makomako; New Zealand wine berry; wineberry (graceful deciduous shrub or small tree having attractive foliage and small red berries that turn black at maturity and are used for making wine)

dombeya (any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus Dombeya grown for their rounded clusters of exquisite often sweet-scented flowers usually hanging beneath the leaves)

California beauty; flannel bush; flannelbush (any of several handsome evergreen shrubs of California and northern Mexico having downy lobed leaves and showy yellow flowers)

screw tree (a tree or shrub of the genus Helicteres)

Hermannia verticillata; honey bell; honeybells; Mahernia verticillata (African shrub having decumbent stems and slender yellow honey-scented flowers either solitary or in pairs)

Grewia asiatica; phalsa (drought-resistant Asiatic treelike shrub bearing pleasantly acid small red edible fruits commonly used in sherbets)

African hemp; Sparmannia africana (large shrub of South Africa having many conspicuously hairy branches with large hairy leaves and clusters of conspicuous white flowers)

protea (any tropical African shrub of the genus Protea having alternate rigid leaves and dense colorful flower heads resembling cones)

banksia (any shrub or tree of the genus Banksia having alternate leathery leaves apetalous yellow flowers often in showy heads and conelike fruit with winged seeds)

smoke bush (any of various shrubs of the genus Conospermum with panicles of mostly white woolly flowers)

Chilean firebush; Chilean flameflower; Embothrium coccineum (grown for outstanding display of brilliant usually scarlet-crimson flowers; Andes)

Chile hazel; Chile nut; Chilean hazelnut; Chilean nut; Guevina avellana; Guevina heterophylla (Chilean shrub bearing coral-red fruit with an edible seed resembling a hazelnut)

grevillea (any shrub or tree of the genus Grevillea)

cushion flower; Hakea laurina; pincushion hakea (tall straggling shrub with large globose crimson-yellow flowers; western Australia)

Hakea leucoptera; needle-wood; needle wood; needlewood (large bushy shrub with pungent pointed leaves and creamy white flowers; central and eastern Australia)

Hakea lissosperma; needle-bush; needle bush; needlebush (shrub with pungent rigid needle-shaped leaves and white flowers; eastern Australia)

honey-flower; honeyflower; Lambertia formosa; mountain devil (erect bushy shrub of eastern Australia having terminal clusters of red flowers yielding much nectar)

lomatia (any of various ornamental evergreens of the genus Lomatia having attractive fragrant flowers)

geebung (any of numerous shrubs and small trees having hard narrow leaves and long-lasting yellow or white flowers followed by small edible but insipid fruits)

Telopea Oreades; waratah (tall shrub of eastern Australia having oblanceolate to obovate leaves and red flowers in compact racemes)

Telopea speciosissima; waratah (straggling shrub with narrow leaves and conspicuous red flowers in dense globular racemes)

native pear; woody pear; Xylomelum pyriforme (tree bearing pear-shaped fruit with a thick woody epicarp)

heath (a low evergreen shrub of the family Ericaceae; has small bell-shaped pink or purple flowers)

andromeda (any of several shrubs of the genus Andromeda having leathery leaves and clusters of small flowers)

arbutus (any of several evergreen shrubs of the genus Arbutus of temperate Europe and America)

bearberry (chiefly evergreen subshrubs of northern to Arctic areas)

manzanita (chiefly evergreen shrubs of warm dry areas of western North America)

bryanthus (procumbent Old World mat-forming evergreen shrub with racemes of pinkish-white flowers)

Chamaedaphne calyculata; leatherleaf (north temperate bog shrub with evergreen leathery leaves and small white cylindrical flowers)

Epigaea repens; mayflower; trailing arbutus (low-growing evergreen shrub of eastern North America with leathery leaves and clusters of fragrant pink or white flowers)

Gaultheria shallon; salal; shallon (small evergreen shrub of Pacific coast of North America having edible dark purple grape-sized berries)

huckleberry (any of several shrubs of the genus Gaylussacia bearing small berries resembling blueberries)

kalmia (any plant of the genus Kalmia)

crystal tea; Labrador tea; Ledum groenlandicum (evergreen shrub of eastern North America having white or creamy bell-shaped flowers and dark green hairy leaves used for tea during American Revolution)

glandular Labrador tea; trapper's tea (a Rocky Mountain shrub similar to Ledum groenlandicum)

Ledum palustre; marsh tea; wild rosemary (bog shrub of northern and central Europe and eastern Siberia to Korea and Japan)

Leiophyllum buxifolium; sand myrtle (low-growing evergreen shrub of New Jersey to Florida grown for its many white star-shaped flowers and glossy foliage)

leucothoe (any plant of the genus Leucothoe; grown for their beautiful white flowers; glossy foliage contains a poisonous substance similar to that found in genus Kalmia)

dog hobble; dog laurel; Leucothoe editorum; Leucothoe fontanesiana; switch-ivy (fast-growing evergreen shrub of southeastern United States having arching interlaced branches and racemes of white flowers)

Leucothoe racemosa; sweet bells (bushy deciduous shrub of the eastern United States with long racemes of pinkish flowers)

alpine azalea; Loiseleuria procumbens; mountain azalea (creeping mat-forming evergreen shrub of high mountain regions of northern hemisphere grown for its rose-pink flowers)

Lyonia mariana; stagger bush; staggerbush (deciduous shrub of coastal plain of the eastern United States having nodding pinkish-white flowers; poisonous to stock)

he-huckleberry; Lyonia ligustrina; male berry; maleberry; privet andromeda (deciduous much-branched shrub with dense downy panicles of small bell-shaped white flowers)

fetter bush; fetterbush; Lyonia lucida; shiny lyonia (showy evergreen shrub of southeastern United States with shiny leaves and angled branches and clusters of pink to reddish flowers that resemble an umbel)

false azalea; fool's huckleberry; Menziesia ferruginea (straggling shrub of northwestern North America having foliage with a bluish tinge and umbels of small bell-shaped flowers)

Menziesia pilosa; minnie bush; minniebush (low shrub of the eastern United States with downy twigs)

andromeda; Japanese andromeda; lily-of-the-valley tree; Pieris japonica (broad-leaved evergreen Asiatic shrub with glossy leaves and drooping clusters of white flowers)

fetterbush; mountain andromeda; mountain fetterbush; Pieris floribunda (ornamental evergreen shrub of southeastern United States having small white bell-shaped flowers)

rhododendron (any shrub of the genus Rhododendron: evergreen shrubs or small shrubby trees having leathery leaves and showy clusters of campanulate (bell-shaped) flowers)

cranberry (any of numerous shrubs of genus Vaccinium bearing cranberries)

blueberry; blueberry bush (any of numerous shrubs of the genus Vaccinium bearing blueberries)

Clethra alnifolia; pepper bush; summer sweet; sweet pepperbush; white alder (shrub of eastern and southern coastal United States having beautiful racemes of spice-scented white flowers)

pixie; pixy; Pyxidanthera barbulata; pyxie (creeping evergreen shrub having narrow overlapping leaves and early white star-shaped flowers; of the pine barrens of New Jersey and the Carolinas)

Australian heath (any heathlike plant of the family Epacridaceae; most are of the Australian region)

Astroloma humifusum; cranberry heath; ground-berry; groundberry; native cranberry; Styphelia humifusum (small prostrate or ascending shrub having scarlet flowers and succulent fruit resembling cranberries; sometimes placed in genus Styphelia)

pink fivecorner; Styphelia triflora (heathlike shrub of southwestern Australia grown for its sharply scented foliage and pink flowers followed by pentagonal fruit)

Chrysolepis sempervirens; dwarf golden chinkapin (evergreen shrub similar to golden chinkapin; mountains of California)

huckleberry oak; Quercus vaccinifolia (a low spreading or prostrate shrub of southwestern United States with small acorns and leaves resembling those of the huckleberry)

forestiera (any plant of the genus Forestiera)

forsythia (any of various early blooming oleaceous shrubs of the genus Forsythia; native to eastern Asia and southern Europe but widely cultivated for their branches of bright yellow bell-shaped flowers)

jasmine (any of several shrubs and vines of the genus Jasminum chiefly native to Asia)

privet (any of various Old World shrubs having smooth entire leaves and terminal panicles of small white flowers followed by small black berries; many used for hedges)

mock privet (evergreen shrub with white flowers and olivelike fruits)

lilac (any of various plants of the genus Syringa having large panicles of usually fragrant flowers)

witch hazel; witch hazel plant; wych hazel; wych hazel plant (any of several shrubs or trees of the genus Hamamelis; bark yields an astringent lotion)

flowering hazel; winter hazel (any of several Asiatic deciduous shrubs cultivated for their nodding racemes of yellow flowers that appear before the leaves)

fothergilla; witch alder (any of several deciduous low-growing shrubs of the genus Fothergilla having showy brushlike spikes of white flowers in spring and fiery red and orange autumn color; grows from Alabama to the Allegheny Mountains)

Combretum bracteosum; hiccough nut; hiccup nut (ornamental African shrub or climber with red flowers)

oleaster (any of several shrubs of the genus Elaeagnus having silver-white twigs and yellow flowers followed by olivelike fruits)

crape myrtle; crepe flower; crepe myrtle; Lagerstroemia indica (ornamental shrub from eastern India commonly planted in the southern United States)

feijoa; feijoa bush (South American shrub having edible greenish plumlike fruit)

fuchsia (any of various tropical shrubs widely cultivated for their showy drooping purplish or reddish or white flowers; Central and South America and New Zealand and Tahiti)

daphne (any of several ornamental shrubs with shiny mostly evergreen leaves and clusters of small bell-shaped flowers)

Dirca palustris; leatherwood; moose-wood; moosewood; ropebark; wicopy (deciduous shrub of eastern North America having tough flexible branches and pliable bark and small yellow flowers)

Indian rhododendron; Melastoma malabathricum (evergreen spreading shrub of India and southeastern Asia having large purple flowers)

Medinilla magnifica (a beautiful tropical evergreen epiphytic shrub grown for its lush foliage and huge panicles of pink flowers; Philippines)

guinea flower; guinea gold vine (any of several Australasian evergreen vines widely cultivated in warm regions for their large bright yellow single flowers)

Canella-alba; Canella winterana; white cinnamon tree; wild cinnamon (large evergreen shrub or small tree having white aromatic bark and leathery leaves and small purple to red flowers in terminal cymes)

rock rose; rockrose (small shrubs of scrub and dry woodland regions of southern Europe and North Africa; grown for their showy flowers and soft often downy and aromatic evergreen foliage)

helianthemum; sun rose; sunrose (any plant of the genus Helianthemum; vigorous plants of stony alpine meadows and dry scrub regions)

batoko palm; Flacourtia indica; governor's plum; governor plum; Madagascar plum; ramontchi (small shrubby tree of Madagascar cultivated in tropical regions as a hedge plant and for its deep red acid fruits resembling small plums)

Dovyalis caffra; kei apple; kei apple bush (vigorous South African spiny shrub grown for its round yellow juicy edible fruits)

Kiggelaria africana; wild peach (large much-branched shrub grown primarily for its evergreen foliage)

xylosma; Xylosma congestum (shrub or small tree grown as an ornamental in mild climates for its neat evergreen foliage and fragrant late flowers; native of China)

candlewood (any of several resinous trees or shrubs often burned for light)

bird's-eye bush; Ochna serrulata (shrub with narrow-elliptic glossy evergreen leaves and yellow flowers with leathery petaloid sepals)

tamarisk (any shrub or small tree of the genus Tamarix having small scalelike or needle-shaped leaves and feathery racemes of small white or pinkish flowers; of mostly coastal areas with saline soil)

false tamarisk; German tamarisk; Myricaria germanica (Eurasian shrub resembling the tamarisk)

cannabis; hemp (any plant of the genus Cannabis; a coarse bushy annual with palmate leaves and clusters of small green flowers; yields tough fibers and narcotic drugs)

butcher's broom; Ruscus aculeatus (shrub with stiff flattened stems resembling leaves (cladophylls); used for making brooms)

Cordyline terminalis; ti (shrub with terminal tufts of elongated leaves used locally for thatching and clothing; thick sweet roots are used as food; tropical southeastern Asia, Australia and Hawaii)

yucca (any of several evergreen plants of the genus Yucca having usually tall stout stems and a terminal cluster of white flowers; warmer regions of North America)

buddleia; butterfly bush (tropical shrub having clusters of white or violet or yellow flowers)

Caesalpinia decapetala; Caesalpinia sepiaria; Mysore thorn (spreading thorny shrub of tropical Asia bearing large erect racemes of red-marked yellow flowers)

Bauhinia monandra; butterfly flower (shrub or small tree of Dutch Guiana having clusters of pink flowers streaked with purple)

paloverde (a thorny shrub of the genus Cercidium that grows in dry parts of the southwestern United States and adjacent Mexico; has smooth light green bark and racemes of yellow flowers and small leaves)

horsebean; Jerusalem thorn; Parkinsonia aculeata (large shrub or shrubby tree having sharp spines and pinnate leaves with small deciduous leaflets and sweet-scented racemose yellow-orange flowers; grown as ornamentals or hedging or emergency food for livestock; tropical America but naturalized in southern United States)

Cytisus ramentaceus; Dalmatian laburnum; Petteria ramentacea (erect shrub having large trifoliate leaves and dense clusters of yellow flowers followed by poisonous seeds; Yugoslavia; sometimes placed in genus Cytisus)

senna (any of various plants of the genus Senna having pinnately compound leaves and showy usually yellow flowers; many are used medicinally)

amorpha (any plant of the genus Amorpha having odd-pinnate leaves and purplish spicate flowers)

Anagyris foetida; bean trefoil; stinking bean trefoil (shrub with trifoliate leaves and yellow flowers followed by backward curving seed pods; leaves foetid when crushed)

Anthyllis barba-jovis; Jupiter's beard; silver-bush; silverbush (silvery hairy European shrub with evergreen foliage and pale yellow flowers)

Aspalathus cedcarbergensis; Aspalathus linearis; rooibos (South African shrub having flat acuminate leaves and yellow flowers; leaves are aromatic when dried and used to make an herbal tea)

cajan pea; Cajanus cajan; catjang pea; dahl; dhal; pigeon-pea plant; pigeon pea; red gram (tropical woody herb with showy yellow flowers and flat pods; much cultivated in the tropics)

caragana; pea tree (any plant of the genus Caragana having even-pinnate leaves and mostly yellow flowers followed by seeds in a linear pod)

California redbud; Cercis occidentalis; western redbud (shrub of western United States having pink or crimson flowers; often forms thickets)

Chamaecytisus palmensis; Cytesis proliferus; tagasaste (shrub of Canary Islands having bristle-tipped oblanceolate leaves; used as cattle fodder)

flame pea (any of several small shrubs or twining vines having entire or lobed leaves and racemes of yellow to orange-red flowers; Australia)

clianthus; glory pea (any of various shrubs or vines of the genus Clianthus having compound leaves and pea-like red flowers in drooping racemes)

Codariocalyx motorius; Desmodium gyrans; Desmodium motorium; semaphore plant; telegraph plant (erect tropical Asian shrub whose small lateral leaflets rotate on their axes and jerk up and down under the influence of sunshine)

bladder senna; Colutea arborescens (yellow-flowered European shrub cultivated for its succession of yellow flowers and very inflated bladdery pods and as a source of wildlife food)

coronilla (any of various plants of the genus Coronilla having purple or pink or yellow flowers in long axillary heads or umbels)

broom (any of various shrubs of the genera Cytisus or Genista or Spartium having long slender branches and racemes of yellow flowers)

Dalea spinosa; smoke tree (greyish-green shrub of desert regions of southwestern United States and Mexico having sparse foliage and terminal spikes of bluish violet flowers; locally important as source of a light-colored honey of excellent flavor)

bitter pea (any of several spiny shrubs of the genus Daviesia having yellow flowers and triangular seeds; Australia)

derris (any of various usually woody vines of the genus Derris of tropical Asia whose roots yield the insecticide rotenone; several are sources of native fish and arrow poisons)

gastrolobium; poison bush; poison pea (any of various Australian evergreen shrubs of the genus Gastrolobium having whorled compound leaves poisonous to livestock and showy yellow to deep reddish-orange flowers followed by two-seeded pods)

chanal; chanar; Geoffroea decorticans (thorny shrub or small tree common in central Argentina having small orange or yellow flowers followed by edible berries)

Halimodendron argenteum; Halimodendron halodendron; salt tree (spiny shrub of the Caspian salt plains and Siberia having elegant silvery, downy young foliage and mildly fragrant pink-purple blooms)

hovea; purple pea (any of several attractive evergreen shrubs of Australia grown for their glossy deep green foliage and flowers in rich blues and intense violets)

indigo; indigo plant; Indigofera tinctoria (deciduous subshrub of southeastern Asia having pinnate leaves and clusters of red or purple flowers; a source of indigo dye)

Lupinus arboreus; tree lupine (evergreen shrub of the Pacific coast of the United States having showy yellow or blue flowers; naturalized in Australia)

mucuna (any of several erect or climbing woody plants of the genus Mucuna; widespread in tropics of both hemispheres)

chaparral pea; Pickeringia montana; stingaree-bush (spiny evergreen xerophytic shrub having showy rose and purple flowers and forming dense thickets; of dry rocky mountain slopes of California)

flat pea; Platylobium formosum (evergreen shrub having almost heart-shaped foliage and bright yellow pea-like flowers followed by flat pods with flat wings; Australia and Tasmania)

common flat pea; native holly; Playlobium obtusangulum (low spreading evergreen shrub of southern Australia having triangular to somewhat heart-shaped foliage and orange-yellow flowers followed by flat winged pods)

Genista raetam; juniper; juniper bush; raetam; Retama raetam; retem (desert shrub of Syria and Arabia having small white flowers; constitutes the juniper of the Old Testament; sometimes placed in genus Genista)

bristly locust; moss locust; Robinia hispida; rose acacia (large shrub or small tree of the eastern United States having bristly stems and large clusters of pink flowers)

coral bush; flame bush; Templetonia retusa (Australian shrub having simple obovate leaves and brilliant scarlet flowers)

furze; gorse; Irish gorse; Ulex europaeus; whin (very spiny and dense evergreen shrub with fragrant golden-yellow flowers; common throughout western Europe)

swamp oak; Viminaria denudata; Viminaria juncea (Australian leafless shrub resembling broom and having small yellow flowers)

rose; rosebush (any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses)

Juneberry; service tree; serviceberry; shadblow; shadbush (any of various North American trees or shrubs having showy white flowers and edible blue-black or purplish fruit)

flowering quince (Asiatic ornamental shrub with spiny branches and pink or red blossoms)

cotoneaster (any shrub of the genus Cotoneaster: erect or creeping shrubs having richly colored autumn foliage and many small white to pinkish flowers followed by tiny red or black fruits)

haw; hawthorn (a spring-flowering shrub or small tree of the genus Crataegus)

Christmas berry; Christmasberry; Heteromeles arbutifolia; Photinia arbutifolia; tollon; toyon (ornamental evergreen treelike shrub of the Pacific coast of the United States having large white flowers and red berrylike fruits; often placed in genus Photinia)

cinquefoil; five-finger (any of a numerous plants grown for their five-petaled flowers; abundant in temperate regions; alleged to have medicinal properties)

cherry laurel; laurel cherry; Prunus laurocerasus (frequently cultivated Eurasian evergreen shrub or small tree having showy clusters of white flowers and glossy foliage and yielding oil similar to bitter almond oil)

Prunus cuneata; Prunus pumila; Prunus pumilla susquehanae; Prunus susquehanae; sand cherry (small straggling American cherry growing on sandy soil and having minute scarcely edible purplish-black fruit)

blackthorn; Prunus spinosa; sloe (a thorny Eurasian bush with plumlike fruits)

fire thorn; firethorn; pyracanth; Pyracantha (any of various thorny shrubs of the genus Pyracantha bearing small white flowers followed by hard red or orange-red berries)

spiraea; spirea (any rosaceous plant of the genus Spiraea; has sprays of small white or pink flowers)

blolly; Chiococca alba; West Indian snowberry (evergreen climbing shrub of southern Florida and West Indies grown for its racemes of fragrant white to creamy flowers followed by globose white succulent berries)

gardenia (any of various shrubs and small trees of the genus Gardenia having large fragrant white or yellow flowers)

hamelia (any of several flowering tropical or subtropical shrubs of the genus Hamelia)

bitter-bark; fever tree; Georgia bark; Pinckneya pubens (ornamental shrub or small tree of swampy areas in southwestern United States having large pink or white sepals and yielding Georgia bark for treating fever)

negro peach; Sarcocephalus esculentus; Sarcocephalus latifolius (a stout spreading or semi-climbing tropical shrub with round brownish-red warty fruit; Africa)

abelia (any of various deciduous or evergreen ornamental shrubs of the genus Abelia having opposite simple leaves and cymes of small white or pink or purplish flowers; Asia and Mexico)

bush honeysuckle; Diervilla lonicera (spreading bush of northeastern United States having small clusters of fragrant green and yellow flowers)

bush honeysuckle; Diervilla sessilifolia (bush honeysuckle of southeastern United States having large crowded clusters of sulfur-yellow flowers)

beauty bush; Kolkwitzia amabilis (Chinese deciduous shrub with yellow-throated pinkish flowers and bristly fruit; often cultivated as an ornamental)

Himalaya honeysuckle; Leycesteria formosa (shrub honeysuckle with drooping spikes of purplish flowers)

honeysuckle (shrub or vine of the genus Lonicera)

coralberry; Indian currant; Symphoricarpos orbiculatus (North American deciduous shrub cultivated for it abundant clusters of coral-red berrylike fruits)

elder; elderberry bush (any of numerous shrubs or small trees of temperate and subtropical northern hemisphere having white flowers and berrylike fruit)

American cranberry bush; cranberry bush; cranberry tree; highbush cranberry; Viburnum trilobum (deciduous North American shrub or small tree having three-lobed leaves and red berries)

twist wood; twistwood; Viburnum lantana; wayfaring tree (vigorous deciduous European treelike shrub common along waysides; red berries turn black)

crampbark; cranberry tree; European cranberry bush; European cranberrybush; guelder rose; Viburnum opulus (deciduous thicket-forming Old World shrub with clusters of white flowers and small bright red berries)

arrow wood; southern arrow wood; Viburnum dentatum (deciduous shrub of eastern North America having blue-black berries and tough pliant wood formerly used to make arrows)

arrow wood; Viburnum recognitum (closely related to southern arrow wood; grows in the eastern United States from Maine to Ohio and Georgia)

black haw; Viburnum prunifolium (upright deciduous shrub having frosted dark-blue fruit; east and east central North America)

weigela; Weigela florida (deciduous shrub widely cultivated for its white or pink or red flowers)

coca; coca plant; Erythroxylon coca (a South American shrub whose leaves are chewed by natives of the Andes; a source of cocaine)

Erythroxylon truxiuense (a South American shrub whose leaves are a source of cocaine)

bean caper; Syrian bean caper; Zygophyllum fabago (perennial shrub of the eastern Mediterranean region and southwestern Asia having flowers whose buds are used as capers)

coville; creosote bush; hediondilla; Larrea tridentata (desert shrub of southwestern United States and New Mexico having persistent resinous aromatic foliage and small yellow flowers)

box; boxwood (evergreen shrubs or small trees)

staff tree (any small tree or twining shrub of the genus Celastrus)

spindle tree; spindleberry; spindleberry tree (any shrubby trees or woody vines of the genus Euonymus having showy usually reddish berries)

burning bush; Euonymus atropurpureus; wahoo (deciduous shrub having purple capsules enclosing scarlet seeds)

Euonymus americanus; strawberry bush; wahoo (upright deciduous plant with crimson pods and seeds; the eastern United States from New York to Florida and Texas)

cyrilla; Cyrilla racemiflora; leatherwood; white titi (shrub or small tree of southeastern United States to West Indies and Brazil; grown for the slender racemes of white flowers and orange and crimson foliage)

crowberry (a low evergreen shrub with small purple flowers and black berrylike fruit)

Chinese holly; Ilex cornuta (dense rounded evergreen shrub of China having spiny leaves; widely cultivated as an ornamental)

smoke bush; smoke tree (any of several shrubs or shrubby trees of the genus Cotinus)

laurel sumac; Malosma laurina; Rhus laurina (small aromatic evergreen shrub of California having paniculate leaves and whitish berries; in some classifications included in genus Rhus)

lentisk; mastic; mastic tree; Pistacia lentiscus (an evergreen shrub of the Mediterranean region that is cultivated for its resin)

shumac; sumac; sumach (a shrub or tree of the genus Rhus (usually limited to the non-poisonous members of the genus))

buckthorn (any shrub or small tree of the genus Bumelia)

styrax (any shrub or small tree of the genus Styrax having fragrant bell-shaped flowers that hang below the dark green foliage)

hydrangea (any of various deciduous or evergreen shrubs of the genus Hydrangea)

philadelphus (any of various chiefly deciduous ornamental shrubs of the genus Philadelphus having white sweet-scented flowers, single or in clusters; widely grown in temperate regions)

climbing hydrangea; Schizophragma hydrangeoides (climbing shrub with adhesive aerial roots having opposite leaves and small white flowers in terminal cymes; Himalayas to Taiwan and Japan)

bridal-wreath; bridal wreath; Francoa ramosa (Chilean evergreen shrub having delicate spikes of small white flowers)

currant; currant bush (any of various deciduous shrubs of the genus Ribes bearing currants)

gooseberry; gooseberry bush; Ribes grossularia; Ribes uva-crispa (spiny Eurasian shrub having greenish purple-tinged flowers and ovoid yellow-green or red-purple berries)

caricature plant; Graptophyllum pictum (tropical Old World shrub having purple or red tubular flowers and leaf markings resembling the profile of a human face)

Chilopsis linearis; desert willow (evergreen shrubby tree resembling a willow of dry regions of southwestern North America having showy purplish flowers and long seed pods)

columnea (tropical plant having thick hairy somewhat toothed leaves and solitary or clustered yellow to scarlet flowers; many cultivated for their flowers and ornamental foliage)

Eriodictyon californicum; yerba santa (viscid evergreen shrub of western United States with white to deep lilac flowers; the sticky aromatic leaves are used in treating bronchial and pulmonary illnesses)

Apalachicola rosemary; Conradina glabra (small shrub of Apalachicola River area in southeastern United States having highly aromatic pinkish flowers; a threatened species)

lavender (any of various Old World aromatic shrubs or subshrubs with usually mauve or blue flowers; widely cultivated)

Lepechinia calycina; pitcher sage; Sphacele calycina (California plant with woolly stems and leaves and large white flowers)

pachouli; patchouli; patchouly; Pogostemon cablin (small East Indian shrubby mint; fragrant oil from its leaves is used in perfumes)

red shrubby penstemon; redwood penstemon (low branching dark green shrub with bunches of brick-red flowers at ends of branches; coastal ranges and foothills of northern California)

naranjilla; Solanum quitoense (small perennial shrub cultivated in uplands of South America for its edible bright orange fruits resembling tomatoes or oranges)

Brazilian potato tree; potato tree; Solanum macranthum; Solanum wrightii (South American shrub or small tree widely cultivated in the tropics; not a true potato)

Brunfelsia americana; lady-of-the-night (West Indian shrub with fragrant showy yellowish-white flowers)

angel's trumpet; Brugmansia arborea; Datura arborea; maikoa (a South American plant that is cultivated for its large fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers)

angel's trumpet; Brugmansia suaveolens; Datura suaveolens (South American plant cultivated for its very large nocturnally fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers)

Brugmansia sanguinea; Datura sanguinea; red angel's trumpet (arborescent South American shrub having very large orange-red flowers)

capsicum; capsicum pepper plant; pepper (any of various tropical plants of the genus Capsicum bearing peppers)

Cestrum diurnum; day jessamine (West Indian evergreen shrub having clusters of funnel-shaped white flowers that are fragrant by day)

Cestrum nocturnum; night jasmine; night jessamine (West Indian evergreen shrub having clusters of funnel-shaped yellow-white flowers that are fragrant by night)

tamarillo; tree tomato (South American arborescent shrub having pale pink blossoms followed by egg-shaped reddish-brown edible fruit somewhat resembling a tomato in flavor)

thorn apple (any of several plants of the genus Datura)

Fabiana imbricata; pichi (Peruvian shrub with small pink to lavender tubular flowers; leaves yield a tonic and diuretic)

boxthorn; matrimony vine (any of various shrubs or vines of the genus Lycium with showy flowers and bright berries)

Christmas berry; Christmasberry; Lycium carolinianum (spiny evergreen shrub of southeastern United States having spreading branches usually blue or mauve flowers and red berries)

chalice vine; cupflower; Solandra guttata; trumpet flower (Mexican evergreen climbing plant having large solitary funnel-shaped fragrant yellow flowers with purple-brown ridges in the throat)

fire-bush; fire bush; marmalade bush; Streptosolen jamesonii (evergreen South American shrub having showy trumpet-shaped orange flowers; grown as an ornamental or houseplant)

spurge (any of numerous plants of the genus Euphorbia; usually having milky often poisonous juice)

Acalypha virginica; three-seeded mercury (weedy herb of eastern North America)

croton; Croton tiglium (tropical Asiatic shrub; source of croton oil)

Codiaeum variegatum; croton (grown in many varieties for their brightly colored foliage; widely cultivated as a houseplant)

castor-oil plant; castor bean plant; palma christ; palma christi; Ricinus communis (large shrub of tropical Africa and Asia having large palmate leaves and spiny capsules containing seeds that are the source of castor oil and ricin; widely naturalized throughout the tropics)

casava; cassava (any of several plants of the genus Manihot having fleshy roots yielding a nutritious starch)

slipper plant; slipper spurge (any of several tropical American shrubby succulent plants resembling cacti but having foot-shaped bracts)

camelia; camellia (any of several shrubs or small evergreen trees having solitary white or pink or reddish flowers)

Camellia sinensis; tea (a tropical evergreen shrub or small tree extensively cultivated in e.g. China and Japan and India; source of tea leaves)

Eryngium maritimum; sea eryngium; sea holly; sea holm (European evergreen eryngo with twisted spiny leaves naturalized on United States east coast; roots formerly used as an aphrodisiac)

Griselinia lucida; puka (South American shrub or small tree having long shining evergreen leaves and panicles of green or yellow flowers)

Griselinia littoralis; kapuka (small New Zealand broadleaf evergreen tree often cultivated in warm regions as an ornamental)

undershrub (a low shrub)

burning bush ((Old Testament) the bush that burned without being consumed and from which God spoke to Moses)

shrublet (dwarf shrub)

subshrub; suffrutex (low-growing woody shrub or perennial with woody base)

flowering shrub (shrub noted primarily for its flowers)

buckthorn (a shrub or shrubby tree of the genus Rhamnus; fruits are source of yellow dyes or pigments)

Christ's-thorn; Jerusalem thorn; jujube; jujube bush; Ziziphus jujuba (spiny tree having dark red edible fruits)

lotus tree; Ziziphus lotus (shrubby deciduous tree of the Mediterranean region)

Christ's-thorn; Jerusalem thorn; Paliurus spina-christi (thorny Eurasian shrub with dry woody winged fruit)

stephanotis (any of various evergreen climbing shrubs of the genus Stephanotis having fragrant waxy flowers)

Holonyms ("shrub" is a member of...):

shrubbery (a collection of shrubs growing together)

Derivation:

shrubby (of or relating to or resembling a shrub)

shrublet (dwarf shrub)

 Context examples 

The El Cerrado is an area with open vegetation, shrubs and grasses.

(Fire control harms biodiversity in Brazilian savannah, SciDev.Net)

Left alone, I walked to the window; but nothing was to be seen thence: twilight and snowflakes together thickened the air, and hid the very shrubs on the lawn.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

An ansamacrolide and maytansine analogue originally isolated from the Ethiopian shrub Maytenus serrata with antineoplastic activity.

(Ansamitomicin P-3, NCI Thesaurus)

They have now called for more shrubs, plants and trees to be planted in urban areas on the back of the findings.

(People Living Near Parks in Cities Less Likely to Face Early Death, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

He seized my hand in the darkness and led me swiftly past banks of shrubs which brushed against our faces.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Cattle-grazing has led to the takeover of grasslands by shrubs and other woody vegetation.

(Sleeping sands of the Kalahari awaken after more than 10,000 years, NSF)

Shrubs and vines were putting on fresh garbs of green.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

A dietary supplement containing an extract powder derived from the root of the ashwagandha shrub with potential antineoplastic, antioxidant, immunostimulating and anti-angiogenic activities.

(Ashwagandha Root Powder Extract, NCI Thesaurus)

A shrub native to China and India.

(Ephedra, NCI Dictionary)

The house was a fair-sized one, standing back from the road, with a curving drive which was banked with high evergreen shrubs.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)