deciduous

/dɪˈsɪdʒuəs/

/dɪˈsɪdʒuəs/

Other forms: deciduously

Hemlock, blue spruce, and white pine are all evergreens. These trees have leaves throughout the year. Oak, maple, and elm are examples of deciduous trees. They lose their foliage in the fall and grow new leaves in the spring.

Trees, shrubs, and herbaceous perennials that shed their leaves for part of the year are categorized by botanists as deciduous. In temperate and polar regions, these plants are generally bare during the cold of winter. In other parts of the world, deciduous plants lose their leaves during the dry part of the year. The word deciduous can also be used to describe parts of the body, such as a deer's antlers or human baby teeth, that are cast off seasonally or at a particular period of development.

Definitions of deciduous

1. adjective

   (of plants and shrubs) shedding foliage at the end of the growing season
   synonyms:

   broad-leafed, broad-leaved, broadleaf

   having relatively broad rather than needlelike or scalelike leaves

   antonyms:

   evergreen

   (of plants and shrubs) bearing foliage throughout the year

   cone-bearing, coniferous

   of or relating to or part of trees or shrubs bearing cones and evergreen leaves

   half-evergreen, semi-evergreen

   of a plant that is incompletely evergreen
2. adjective

   (of teeth, antlers, etc.) being shed at the end of a period of growth
   “deciduous teeth”

   synonyms:

   caducous, shed

   shed at an early stage of development