Collective Nouns for Trees

When is a forest not a Forest, and a wood not a copse but a spinney? I’ve put together a list of collective nouns for trees from the English language from arboretum to woodland. Perhaps some will be new to you; maybe I’ve missed one that you know.

[image error]A clump of trees on the top of a hill, and a hedge near the valley bottom with small standards, lit by the winter solstice sun. Photo Gabriel Hemery.



collective noundescriptionarboretum (plural arboreta)botanical collection of trees, often supporting public education and science activities, including genetic conservation. See list of UK arboretaavenuerow of trees, often a double row, marking an approach to a feature or lining the sides of a road. e.g. lime avenuebushwooded area but usually not densely populated with treescantblock within a woodland (usually 2-5 acres) often used to described an area under coppice management, with the number of cants equal to the rotation length (e.g. with 14 year coppice rotation, there will be 14 cants)chaparraldense thickets of trees in the Mediterranean region (Europe), California (USA) and Mexico, usually comprising evergreen broadleaved species adapted to hot dry summersclearingan area clear of trees in a wood or forest, sometimes created when trees are felled for timber or kept free to enhance biodiversity or landscapeclumphilltop group of trees, often prominent in the landscapecompartmentmanagement unit of a forest, used as a technical term among foresters to define areas under similar management or with discrete mixtures of tree speciescoupean area within a woodland where the trees are to be felledcoppicerefers to the management practice of coppicing, although sometimes used to describe an area managed as a coppice crop e.g. sweet chestnut coppicecopsetechnically an area managed as coppice but commonly used to describe a small wood. e.g. Piles Copsedellsmall valley or hollow, usually ( but not always) covered with treesforest or ForestWith a capital ‘F’ refers historically to a royal hunting forest (e.g. Forest of Dean, New Forest), but in modern usage with a lowercase used widely describe a large area of trees, although often interchangeably with wood or woodlandgrovea small group of trees, generally of an attractive naturehagga clearing in a wood or forest, from Old Norse and used still in northern Englandhangersmall group of trees on a hillside or slopehedge or hedgerowa line of trees, often comprising shrub species, traditionally planted and maintained to mark a boundary or to contain livestock. In some part of Britain (e.g. Devon) they are planted on top of soil-filled double stone walls. Traditionally managed by laying, and sometimes with occasional large trees left uncut to grow as ‘standards’krummholztrees growing at high latitudes and in exposed situations where their growth is stunted by extreme cold and wind, creating dwarfed and contorted formsmonoculturea group of trees consisting of a single species (e.g. in a plantation) or genetic similarity (e.g. a natural group of clonal aspen grown from suckers)orchardan area of trees planted and managed for their crop of fruit or nuts, typically using specific varieties to improve food quality and volume productionpinetuma collection of pine (Pinus spp.) trees forming a special type of arboretumplantationan area of trees deliberately planted by man as a forest operation, typically for timber production although not exclusivelyQuercetuma collection of oak (Quercus spp.) trees forming a special type of arboretumshrubberyan area of small trees (shrubs) in a gardenspinneya small area of trees, like a copse or wood but traditionally created and managed for hunting gamestanda forestry term used to describe an area of a forest with uniform tree species, structure, age, size etc., similar to a compartmentthicketa dense area of trees, often impenetrable to people wood or woodlandboth terms are used interchangeably, see also forestxylariumThis doesn’t belong here but I like the term! It refers to a collection of woody specimens, as a ‘herbarium’ is for plants.Collection Nouns for Trees



[image error]collective nouns for trees

Have I missed any terms for groups of trees?

Please add comments below and I will update the list. Thanks