PLANTS  . In the most generally used sense, a plant is a member of the

lower or vegetable order of living organized things; the term is also popularly applied to the smaller herbaceous plants, thus excluding trees and shrubs . The early use of the word is for a twig, shoot, cutting or sapling, which was the meaning of Lat. planta (for plancta, the root being that seen in planes, flat, cf . Gr. irXaris, broad; planta thus meant a spreading shoot or sucker) . Other meanings of " plant " are derived from the verb " to plant " (Lat. planlare, to fix in position or place) . It is thus used of the fixtures, machinery, apparatus necessary for the carrying on of an industry or business, and in colloquial or slang use, of a swindle, a carefully arranged plot or trap laid or fixed to deceive; cf. also PLANTATION .