understory

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

By keeping fire out of the state’s wildlands altogether, California has grown thick with branches, brush and understory that are now acting as fuel for the state’s ever-larger blazes.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 10, 2025

"Since this kind of behavior affects tree regeneration, as well as understory vegetation, our findings show the influence of mice on the creation of complexities of the forest ecosystem."

From Science Daily • Nov. 6, 2023

Coffee is an understory plant: It grows best under a canopy of shade-providing trees.

From Salon • Oct. 23, 2023

The disease can spread quickly in younger trees, killing saplings and understory beech at a high rate.

From Washington Times • Oct. 20, 2023

Pushing her way through the saplings and fallen branches, she found the arrow thirty yards into the trees, its red fletches bright against the mottled green understory.

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee