abscission

ab·scis·sion  (b-szhn)

n.

1. The act of cutting off.

2. Botany The shedding of leaves, flowers, or fruits following the formation of the abscission zone.

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abscission  (b-szhn)

The separation of a leaf, flower, or fruit from a plant as a result of natural structural and chemical changes. The abscission zone is a layer of weak, thin-walled cells that form across the base of the plant part where the break eventually occurs. A corky layer containing suberin forms beneath the abscission zone to protect the plant.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	abscission - shedding of flowers and leaves and fruit following formation of scar tissue in a plant shedding, sloughing - the process whereby something is shed
	2.	abscission - the act of cutting something off cutting off remotion, removal - the act of removing; "he had surgery for the removal of a malignancy" circumcision - the act of circumcising; surgical removal of the foreskin of males