A prostrate shrub is a

woody plant A woody plant is a plant that produces wood as its structural tissue and thus has a hard stem. In cold climates, woody plants further survive winter or dry season above ground, as opposite to herbaceous plants that die back to the ground until sp ...

, most of the branches of which lie upon or just above the ground, rather than being held erect as are the branches of most trees and shrubs.

Background

Prostration may occur because the supporting tissues in stems are not strong enough to support the weight of the plant, causing the plant to bend until it reaches the ground. Alternatively, it may occur because of a genetic disposition for branches to grow horizontally on or just under the ground; for example, as a strategy to avoid overly strong sunlight. Finally, environmental factors such as strong winds laden with sand or salt may tend to prune away erect branches, thereby creating a prostrate habit in plants that may not be predisposed to prostration.

Ecology

Prostrate shrubs are used in

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

groundcover Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows over an area of ground. Groundcover provides protection of the topsoil from erosion and drought. In an ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as t ...

s and in

hanging basket A hanging basket is a suspended container used for growing decorative plants. Typically they are hung from buildings, where garden space is at a premium, and from street furniture for environmental enhancement. They may also be suspended from fre ...

s, and to bind soils and prevent

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

in remedial

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal o ...

. They are also important components of

rock gardens A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small A ...

. The shrinking size of urban gardens has meant an increase in demand for and desirability of dwarf and prostrate forms of many garden plants. More recently, prostrate shrubs have received attention for their usefulness in planting

green roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...

s and green walls, where they can contribute to

environmental conservation *Environmental protection *Nature conservation Nature conservation is the moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protec ...

. Prostrate plant forms may arise from deliberate breeding and hybridisation, such as the groundcover

grevillea ''Grevillea'', commonly known as spider flowers, is a genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. Plants in the genus ''Grevillea'' are shrubs, rarely trees, with the leaves arranged alternately along the b ...

s, including ''Grevillea'' "Poorinda Royal Mantle",Stewart, p. 114 and ''G.'' "Bronze Rambler",Stewart, p. 110 or by selection of forms of plants growing in exposed areas. The windswept coastal heathlands and cliffs of far southeastern New South Wales have yielded ''Banksia'' 'Roller Coaster' and ''Banksia'' 'Pygmy Possum'.Stewart, p. 102 These are flattened varieties of less than 0.5 m in height of the species ''

Banksia integrifolia ''Banksia integrifolia'', commonly known as the coast banksia, is a species of tree that grows along the east coast of Australia. One of the most widely distributed ''Banksia'' species, it occurs between Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Cen ...

'' and ''

Banksia serrata ''Banksia serrata'', commonly known as the saw banksia, the old man banksia, the saw-tooth banksia or the red honeysuckle and as wiriyagan by the Cadigal people, is a species of woody shrub or tree of the genus ''Banksia'', in the family Prote ...

'', respectively, both of which grow to sizeable trees of 10 m (30 ft) or more in height. The origin of others is unclear; Cootamundra Wattle (''

Acacia baileyana ''Acacia baileyana'' or Cootamundra wattle is a shrub or tree in the flowering plant family Fabaceae. The scientific name of the species honours the botanist Frederick Manson Bailey. It is indigenous to a very small area in southern inland New S ...

'') is a popular and widely used garden plant in Australia, a prostrate form of which is also in cultivation. Its origin is unknown, possibly a chance seedling in cultivation. It itself is a popular garden plant, its cascading horizontal branches good for rockeries.Stewart, p. 156

Species

Many species of roses grow as long canes that can spread prostrate on the ground, and some of these have been hybridized to form climbing and rambling roses that can be allowed to grow on the ground without support, as well as varieties known as " carpet roses" that are intended to be grown as ground covers. Prostrate juniper, ''Juniperus communis'' subsp. ''alpina'' is a naturally occurring form of a popular

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

.Adams, R. P. (2004). ''Junipers of the World: The genus Juniperus''. Victoria: Trafford. . Many species of ''

Cotoneaster ''Cotoneaster'' is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to the Palaearctic region (temperate Asia, Europe, north Africa), with a strong concentration of diversity in the genus in the mountains of southwestern China an ...

'', such as ''C. apiculatus'', are prostrate ornamentals,Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan . as are the closely related ''

Pyracantha ''Pyracantha'' (from Greek "fire" and "thorn", hence firethorn) is a genus of large, thorny evergreen shrubs in the family Rosaceae, with common names firethorn or pyracantha. They are native to an area extending from Southwest Europe east to ...

s'', and the ''humilis'' variant of sweetbox, ''

Sarcococca ''Sarcococca'' (sweet box or Christmas box) is a genus of 11 species of flowering plants in the box family (biology), family Buxaceae, native plant, native to eastern and southeastern Asia and the Himalayas. They are slow-growing, monoecious, eve ...

hookeriana'' var. ''humilis''. Heaths (''

Erica carnea ''Erica carnea'', the winter heath, winter-flowering heather, spring heath or alpine heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to mountainous areas of central, eastern and southern Europe, where it grows in coniferous ...

'' and related species) and heathers ( ''Calluna vulgaris'') are prostrate shrubs often featured prominently in rock gardens. Wintergreens such as ''

Gaultheria humifusa ''Gaultheria humifusa'' is a species of shrub in the heath family which is known by the common names alpine wintergreen and alpine spicy wintergreen. It is native to western North America, from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where ...

'' and ''

Gaultheria procumbens ''Gaultheria procumbens'', also called the eastern teaberry, the checkerberry, the boxberry, or the American wintergreen, is a species of ''Gaultheria'' native to northeastern North America from Newfoundland west to southeastern Manitoba, and sou ...

'' are also prostrate growers.Borealforest
''Gaultheria procumbens''
/ref> Although, strictly speaking, herbaceous, the North American bunchberry (''

Cornus canadensis ''Cornus canadensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae, native to eastern Asia and North America. Common names include Canadian dwarf cornel, Canadian bunchberry, quatre-temps, crackerberry, and creeping dogwood. Un ...

''), a member of the

dogwood ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...

genus, can appear as a prostrate shrub when growing in the garden. Many daphnes, particularly those derived from ''

Daphne odora ''Daphne odora'', winter daphne, is a species of flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae, native to China, later spread to Japan and Korea. It is an evergreen shrub, grown for its very fragrant, fleshy, pale-pink, tubular flowers, each with f ...

'', are prostrate growers, including forms that are highly fragrant and have variegated leaves, although they are short-lived. Some forms of the culinary

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native plant, native to the Mediterranean Region, Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was kn ...

(''Rosmarinus officinalis'') form prostrate shrubs when grown in

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

s, although they die back to the ground when grown where winters are colder.

National Non-Food Crops Centre NNFCC is a consultancy company specialising in bioenergy, biofuels and bio-based products. History Established by the UK Government in 2003 as the National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) to help extend the competitive non-food uses of crops, N ...

"Rosemary"
Retrieved on 2009-04-23.

References

Cited text

* {{botany Shrubs Plant morphology Garden plants Groundcovers

Background

Ecology

Species

See also

References

Cited text