I wanted to get rid of a Green Shrub (= remove it in hopes of replanting it later, without having to move it to the other side of the village), but instead of reverting to a Green Shrub Seed, it gave me either 10 sticks (if I axe it) or 8 sticks (hammer).
Iirc, destroying (hammer) other kinds of shrubbery (hedges, at least) give back the seed they came from.