枯 - The DRY Tree Looks Like a Skeleton

Readings & Meanings:

か（らす）

コ

か（れる）

to let dry, wither

Common Usage:

枯れる

木枯らし

枯れ木

Examples:

雨不足で畑の野菜が枯れた。

木枯らしが刺すように寒い。

枯れ木も山のにぎわい。

Translations:

Farm vegetables withered in the drought.

This cold is like a piercing winter wind.

Even the bare trees on the mountain (are better than nothing).

Radical:

木 is our radical. 古 is our phonetic. We've covered 古 before; it's a pictograph of a hard, dry skull.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm