suffruticose

[suh-froo-ti-kohs]

adjective

woody at the base and herbaceous above.

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

Historical Examples of suffruticose

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
Suffruticose or Frutescent, when low stems are decidedly woody below, but herbaceous above.
The Elements of Botany
Asa Gray

British Dictionary definitions for suffruticose

suffruticose

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