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The vertical and horizontal lines that carry the relationships in a tree.
Also known as: Descent line, Lines in a family chart, Bracket joining children in a chart
The lines do the work, not the shapes. A vertical drop is descent, a horizontal bar joins a couple, and a bracket gathers siblings — so a chart can be read structurally before a single symbol is identified.
The lines carry the relationships and the shapes carry the individuals, which is why a chart in an unfamiliar notation can still be read structurally before any symbol is identified.
Twins are shown by two lines meeting at a single point on the sibship bracket, with a connecting bar added between them where the twins are identical.
A dashed or broken line generally marks a relationship that is uncertain, adoptive or otherwise not by descent, though this is one of the points on which hobbyist charts vary most.
Check the chart's key before reading a broken line as adoption.
Straight vertical lines dropping from horizontal bars, with further short verticals hanging from a horizontal bracket below.