Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A low-growing perennial plant having a woody lower stem.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A low-growing woody shrub or perennial with woody base.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun low-growing woody shrub or perennial with woody base

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Formed by the combination of sub- +‎ shrub after the scientific Latin suffrutex. Compare the earlier undershrub.

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Examples

  • Dianella consists of about 30 rhizomatous herb or subshrub species, many of which are, like today's plant, native to Australia.

    Museum Blogs 2009

Comments

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  • *wonders what übershrubs look like*

    April 18, 2008

  • Oooh, fun to say.

    August 6, 2013

  • Beelzebub scrubs a hushed subshrub thrush in a slushy rub-a-dub-dub rubber tub.

    August 8, 2022