An erect plant is a plant that stands upright, with reference to the earths surface or to the surface to which it is attached. Examples of erect plants include trees, mangoes, oranges, bananas, maples, maize, bamboos, and pokeweed. The general appearance of an erect plant includes size, shape, growth form, and orientation. Erect plants can be subdivided into herbs, shrubs, and trees according to the strength of the stem. The herbaceous stem is extremely succulent, and the plant is necessarily very small and may not even rise above the surface of the soil. Very often, it is subterranean, giving rise to some leaves at soil level.