cladoptosis

[klad-op-toh-sis, kley-dop-]

noun Botany.

the annual shedding of twigs or branches instead of leaves, as in certain cypresses.

Origin of cladoptosis

First recorded in 1880–85; clado- + ptosis

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018