Floor to Ceiling – The “layers” of a woodland
The different layers of woodland.
The Field or Herb Layer
This is down on the woodland floor. The plants and flowers that are found here will depend on the openness of the canopy and the dominant trees. Generally speaking, the more open the canopy the more diverse the herb layer. Plants that may be found in the herb layer include bluebells, herb bennett, wood anemone, bramble, enchanter’s nightshade, primrose, wood sedge, dog’s mercury and lily of the valley. 
The “ground layer” is found within the herb layer and refers to mosses and other low-lying plants.
The Understorey or shrub layer
This is a layer of vegetation below the high canopy, but above the ground which may, for example, consist of hazel and shrubs (such as the inasive Rhododendron ponticum.
The Canopy
This usually refers to the layer of leaves and branches formed by the trees. It intercepts much of the light, so that on the woodland floor it can be quite shady in late spring and summer. Consequently the number and range of plants that can grow in this reduced light may be quite limited – bluebells grow in the Spring before the canopy is fully formed. The trees that form that bulk of the canopy are sometimes referred to as the dominants.
Some further reading:
- http://handbooks.btcv.org.uk/handbooks/content/chapter/683
- http://www.lickeyhills.bham.org.uk/Lickeythemes/woodlands.htm#flora
- http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/woodland_manage/struct.htm
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1 Comment so far
Tracy Pepler
11 September, 2008
Hi Chris
You fancy writing a blog about the soil layers?
Tracy