Overstories

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A layer of foliage and branches formed by the uppermost trees in a forest, often creating a distinct ecological habitat
2. The upper layer of vegetation in a forest or woodland, consisting of the tallest trees that receive the most sunlight
3. Referring to the canopy formed by tree branches, which serves as a protective cover for the layers below them

Etymology: "Overstory" is a compound of "over" and "story," and the "story" here is the architectural sense of a floor or level of a building, not a tale. Foresters borrowed the term to describe the uppermost tier of a forest, the tallest trees whose crowns form the canopy above the understory, shrub layer, and ground cover. The architectural "story" itself traces back through Anglo-Norman and Medieval Latin "historia," which in that setting meant a painted or carved panel, so a building's level was originally a decorated tier of wall. The plural "overstories" is simply the countable form of this noun, used when ecologists or foresters refer to more than one such canopy, as in comparing the overstories of different stands. The singular "overstory" is the form most dictionaries treat as basic, with "overstorey" as the British spelling.

Synonyms: layers, levels, superstructures