Dendrology, from the Ancient Greek δένδρον meaning "tree" and λόγος meaning "study", is the science of trees, and more generally the study of woody plants. Woody plants may be trees, shrubs, etc and lianas. Note: This article contains special characters. ... A woody plant is a vascular plant that has a stem (or more than one stem) that is lignified to a high degree. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ... A broom shrub in flower A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 6 m tall. ... A liana is woody climber. ...

There is no sharp boundary between plant taxonomy and dendrology. However, woody plants do not only belong to many different plant families, but these families may be made up of both woody and non-woody members. Some families include only a few woody species. This severely limits the usefulness of a strictly dendrological approach. Dendrology tends to focus on economically useful woody plants, their identification and horticultural or silvicultural properties. Plant taxonomy is the science that finds, describes, classifies and names plants. ... In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is 1) a rank or 2) a taxon in that rank. ...

Noted dendrologists

• Mike Baillie, Queen's University of Belfast
• Michael Dirr
• Alan Mitchell
• Maciej Giertych

Dr Mike Baillie, Professor of Palaeoecology in the School of Archaeology and Palaeoecology at Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a leading expert in dendrology, or dating by means of tree-rings. ... The Queens University of Belfast (QUB) is a university in Belfast, Northern Ireland; the university is often called Queens University Belfast. ... Michael A. Dirr, Ph. ... Alan Mitchell (4 November 1922 - 3 August 1995) was a British forester, dendrologist and botanist, and author of several books on trees. ... Maciej Marian Giertych (born March 24, 1936 in Warsaw) is a Polish politician with extreme conservative social views and in favor of state intervention in the economy. ...

External links

• Iowa State - Dendrology
• Forest Biology and Dendrology Educational Sites at Virginia Tech