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A grove is a small group of trees with minimal or no undergrowth, such as a sequoia grove, or a small orchard planted for the cultivation of fruits or nuts. Other words for groups of trees include woodland, woodlot, thicket, or stand.
The primary meaning of "grove" is simply a group of trees that grow close together, generally without many bushes or other plants underneath. It is an old word in English, existing more than 1,000 years ago, but it is of unknown origin.
Naturally-occurring groves are typically small, perhaps a few acres at most. Orchards, by contrast, may be small or very large, like the apple orchards in Washington state, and orange groves in Florida.
Historically, groves were considered sacred in pagan, pre-Christian Germanic, Nordic and Celtic cultures. Helen F. Leslie-Jacobsen argues that "we can assume that sacred groves actually existed due to repeated mentions in historiographical and ethnographical accounts. e.g. Tacitus, Germania."