a shrub. Shrubs, according to Linnaeus, make a branch of the seventh family in the vegetable kingdom; and are distinguished from trees, in their coming up without buds. But this distinction is not universal, although it is generally correct with regard to those of Europe. Nature has made no absolute distinction between trees and shrubs. Frutex, in its general acceptation, is a plant whose trunk is perennial, gemmiparous, woody, dividing and subdividing into a great number of branches. In short, it is the epitome of a tree, as exemplified in the rose-bush.