Swamp Shrub

Swamp

A swamp is a forested wetland. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in creating this environment. Swamps vary in size and are located all around the world. The water of a swamp may be fresh water, brackish water, or seawater. Freshwater swamps form along large rivers or lakes where they are critically dependent upon rainwater and seasonal flooding to maintain natural water level fluctuations. Saltwater swamps are found along tropical and subtropical coastlines. Some swamps have hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodic inundation or soil saturation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp forests and "transitional" or shrub swamps. In the boreal regions of Canada, the word swamp is colloquially used for what is more formally termed a bog, fen, or muskeg. Some of the world's largest swamps are found along major rivers such as the Amazon, the Mississippi, and the Congo.

Shrub

A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple stems and shorter height, less than 6–10 m (20–33 ft) tall, the cutoff point varying within this range for any one species due to suitability of growing conditions in any one environment. Some tree species never achieve their mature height because of hostile, less than ideal growing conditions in certain areas, and can resemble shrub-sized plants. Small shrubs, less than 2 m (6.6 ft) tall are sometimes termed as subshrubs. Some shrub species only last about five years in good conditions, while others, usually larger and more woody, live beyond 70 years; on average, shrub species die after about eight years.

swamp

Noun

1. An area of wet (water-saturated), spongy (soft) land, often with trees, generally a rich ecosystem for certain plants and animals but ill-suited for many agricultural purposes.
2. A place or situation that is foul or where progress is difficult.

Verb

1. To drench or fill with water.
2. To overwhelm; to make too busy, or overrun the capacity of.

shrub

Noun

1. A woody plant smaller than a tree, and usually with several stems from the same base.

Verb

1. To lop; to prune.
2. To plant a shrub in a yard, garden, etc.; to prune a bush or other plant into a shrub.