Bonsai Meaning

Thus a plant in a tray is bonsai.

Bonsai meaning. The word bonsai can be broken into its two roots that is bon which means a tray or a shallow container and sai meaning plant. Bonsai is basically a japanese word but has chinese roots. This art form is derived from an ancient chinese horticultural practice part of which was then redeveloped under the influence of japanese zen buddhism. A tree or shrub that has been dwarfed as by pruning the roots and pinching and is grown in a pot or other container and trained to produce a desired shape or effect.

A potted plant such as a tree dwarfed as by pruning and trained to an artistic shape also. It is derived from the chinese word pun sai which literally means growing trees in a pot or tray. The word bon sai often misspelled as bonzai or banzai is a japanese term which literally translated means planted in a container. Similar practices exist in other cultures including the chinese tradition of penzai or penjing from which the art originated and the miniature living landscapes of vietnamese hòn.

The art of growing such a plant. Bonsai a dwarfed ornamental tree or shrub grown in a tray or shallow pot tree a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown.