The classification of a plant as either a tree (ilan) or a vegetable (yarak) has significant halachic implications, including:

• Blessings on food (“borei peri ha’etz” vs. “borei peri ha’adamah“)
• Blessings on fragrances (“borei isvei besamim vs. borei atzei besamim)
• The laws of orlah and neta revay (prohibition of eating fruit from a tree’s first three years and laws for fourth-year trees; applies to trees only)
• The prohibition of kilei zera’im (interplanting mixed species; applies to vegetables and edible annuals, not to trees),
• The prohibition of kilei hakerem (interplanting annuals with grapevines).

The main criterion distinguishing a tree from a vegetable is that a tree has a perennial trunk (surviving from year to year), whereas a vegetable regrows anew each year.

In the plot before you, there are various plants whose classification has been debated by halachic authorities over the generations: Are they considered trees or vegetables?