Woody Plants

Woody plants are plants whose stems and large roots are durable and survive over a number of years.  Since, all woody plants are perennial.  There are three types of woody plants - trees, shrubs and woody vines.  Trees and shrubs are self-supporting while vines do not stand upright on their own.

Trees have one central stem (trunk) from which branches grow to form the tree crown and are usually at least 10-12 feet high. Shrubs have multiple woody stems produced near the soil line and tend to be below 10 feet high.

Woody vines use branches and trunks of other plants to climb up.  They can be woody or semi-woody, that is contain some woody material.

Woody plants can be non-flowering (conifers) and flowering (non-conifers).  Non-flowering plants are generally refered to as gymnosperms, and flowering plants as angiosperms.