overstory

[ oh-ver-stawr-ee, -stohr-ee ]

noun

, plural o·ver·sto·ries.

1. the uppermost layer of foliage in a forest, forming the canopy.

Word History and Origins

Origin of overstory¹

1480–90, for an earlier sense; 1955–60 for current sense; over- + story ²

Example Sentences

What Powers’ epic, Pulitzer-winning 2018 novel, “The Overstory,” did for forests, this novel does for oceans.

From Los Angeles Times

These practices over time yielded "mosaics" of forests made up of diverse patches of trees varying in age, density, and overstory and understory composition.

From Science Daily

Readers who have recently been enraptured by Richard Powers’ tree-obsessed novel “The Overstory” or Suzanne Simard’s “Finding the Mother Tree” will want to add this to their collection.

From Seattle Times

The forest is in the eastern foothills of the Coast Range, and the dominant species in the McDonald-Dunn overstory is Douglas-fir, Oregon's state tree and a versatile timber tree that's a source of boards, railroad ties, plywood veneer and wood fiber.

From Science Daily

"On these longer rotations, multiple entries for thinning were required to prevent buildup of understory vegetation that would have suppressed the growth of overstory Douglas-fir," Carlisle said.

From Science Daily