Unpruned

Unpruned is an adjective used to describe something that has not undergone pruning, the selective removal of branches, shoots, or other parts. The term is used across fields such as horticulture, botany, and computer science to denote a state where growth, structure, or complexity has not been trimmed or simplified.

In horticulture and landscape practice, an unpruned plant grows with its natural architecture. Such growth tends to be taller and more densely branched, which can reduce light penetration and air circulation and increase maintenance needs. Some gardeners preserve natural form or allow rapid early establishment by forgoing pruning, while others prune to manage size and health.

In fruit trees and ornamental shrubs, pruning is commonly used to shape growth and stimulate fruiting. Leaving plants unpruned can alter allocation of resources, often favoring vegetative growth over fruiting, and may lead to a less regular canopy.

In machine learning, an unpruned decision tree is built without pruning after growth. Such trees may fit training data closely and become large and complex, risking overfitting and poorer generalization. Pruning methods, including cost-complexity pruning, reduced-error pruning, and pessimistic pruning, aim to simplify the tree and improve predictive performance.

The concept of unpruned highlights a balance between natural growth and processed simplification, depending on goals such as aesthetic preference, maintenance considerations, or predictive accuracy.