undergrow

From under- +‎ grow.

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undergrow (third-person singular simple present undergrows, present participle undergrowing, simple past undergrew, past participle undergrown)

1. (intransitive) To grow to an inferior, or less than the usual, size or height.

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2. (transitive) To grow underneath.
   • 1910, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “(please specify the story)”, in Strictly Business: More Stories of the Four Million, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, →OCLC:

     Descending the side of the levee, he penetrated the rank density of weeds and willows that undergrew the trees until the river's edge, shouting Victor's name.

“undergrow”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.