Different traits in plants affect their growth and ability to tolerate shade. A new framework was developed to understand how traits like seed mass, leaf size, nitrogen content, and wood density influence plant growth. The framework shows that the impact of these traits on growth changes as the plant grows, with some traits becoming more important while others become less so. For example, leaf size is crucial for small plants but less important for larger ones, while wood density remains significant at all sizes. These traits also determine how well plants can handle shade, with different traits affecting plant responses to light conditions.