We aimed to answer the following questions related to the architecture of individuals 0.5-3.0 m in height belonging to understory or canopy/emergent layer tree species: "Is there a difference between individuals belonging to different strata developing in environments with the same light intensity, in terms of their architecture?"; and "Given the same light intensity, do understory species exhibit less crown plasticity than do canopy/emergent layer species?" Thirteen architectural variables were evaluated in 80 individuals per species. We found that understory species showed greater increases in stem thickness and leaf number, as well as wider, deeper crowns, longer branches, greater self-shading and less crown plasticity. Stems and crowns were more slender in the canopy species than in the understory species. These differences might be due to the trade-off between vertical and lateral growth. Our results indicate that, regardless of the group to which they belong, species are best able to take advantage of light conditions in the understory of the forest. However, because they demand more light, canopy species showed a growth form that resulted in an architecture that is likely to enable better light capture in the understory.