suffruticose

[ suh-froo-ti-kohs ]

/ səˈfru tɪˌkoʊs /

adjective

woody at the base and herbaceous above.

Nearby words

suffragan, suffrage, suffragette, suffragist, suffrutescent, suffruticose, suffumigate, suffuse, suffusion, sufi, sufism

Origin of suffruticose

1785–95; < New Latin suffruticōsus, equivalent to Latin suf- suf- + frutic- (stem of frutex shrub, bush) + -ōsus -ose¹

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Examples from the Web for suffruticose

Suffruticose or Frutescent, when low stems are decidedly woody below, but herbaceous above.
The Elements of Botany|Asa Gray
A species of one of the suffruticose Acanthaccæ (Strobilanthes), which grows, abundantly in the mountain ranges of Ceylon.
Sketches of the Natural History of Ceylon|J. Emerson Tennent

British Dictionary definitions for suffruticose

suffruticose

/ (səˈfruːtɪˌkəʊz) /

adjective

(of a plant) having a permanent woody base and herbaceous branches

Word Origin for suffruticose

C18: from New Latin suffruticōsus, from Latin sub- + frutex a shrub

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012