Tree vs. Bush: Is There a Technical Difference?

There is no strict botanical line between "tree" and "bush" (shrub). It's a growth-form description:

• Tree: Typically a single woody trunk, >15 feet at maturity (up to 300+ feet).
• Shrub/Bush: Multiple stems from base, usually <25 feet tall.

You can train a tree as a bush (coppicing, pollarding) or a bush as a tree (select one leader, remove lower branches).

Bananas: The banana "tree" is actually a giant herbaceous perennial (Musa spp.). Its "trunk" is a pseudostem of tightly packed leaf sheaths. It dies after fruiting; new shoots (pups) rise from the underground corm. So it's neither a true tree nor a bush—it's a herb.