Deciduous
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Deciduous means "temporary" or "tending to fall off" (deriving from the Latin word decidere, to fall off).
[edit] Botany
In botany, deciduous plants, principally trees and shrubs, are those that lose all of their foliage for part of the year. In some cases, the foliage loss coincides with winter in temperate or polar climates, while others lose their leaves during the dry season in climates with seasonal variation in rainfall. The converse of deciduous is evergreen; plants which are intermediate may be called semi-deciduous.
Many deciduous plants flower during the period when they are leafless, as this increases the effectiveness of pollination. The absence of leaves improves wind transmission of pollen in the case of wind-pollinated plants, and increases the visibility of the flowers to insects in insect-pollinated plants. This strategy is not without risks, as the flowers can be damaged by frost, or in dry season areas, result in water stress on the plant. Nevertheless, by losing leaves in the cold winter days, plants can reduce water loss since most of the water would appear as ice, and there is much less branch and trunk breakage from glaze ice storms when leafless (Lemon 1961).
[edit] Anatomy
In anatomy, deciduous teeth, also called milk teeth, are those that fall out during the course of normal development. Other body parts that are shed, such as antlers, are also described as deciduous.
[edit] References
- Lemon, P. C. (1961). Forest ecology of ice storms. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 88: 21.
- Deciduous Forest Facts
- Deciduous Forest Biomeca:Caducifoli
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