understory
(noun)
the layer of plants that grow in the shade of the canopy of a forest
Examples of understory in the following topics:
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Energy Sources
- For instance, plants in the understory of a temperate forest are shaded when the trees above them in the canopy completely leaf out in the late spring.
- Not surprisingly, understory plants have adaptations to successfully capture available light.
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Tropical Wet Forest and Savannas
- Above that is an understory of short shrubby foliage.
- A layer of trees rising above this understory is topped by a closed upper canopy: the uppermost overhead layer of branches and leaves.
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Mosses
- Their habitats vary from the tundra, where they are the main vegetation, to the understory of tropical forests.
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Plant Adaptations to Life on Land
- Ferns, which are considered an early lineage of plants, thrive in damp and cool places such as the understory of temperate forests.