The disclaimer: This is not meant to be an exhaustive review of the recent literature regarding abscission in plants. Instead, think of this as a selection of “recent highlights” (my opinion) in the study of abscission. Let’s focus on three steps of abscission: (1) the development of the abscission zone…
“..And all the leaves on the trees are falling To the sound of the breezes that blow…”– Van Morrison How Can I Miss You, If You Won’t Go Away? Ah, November in the Pacific Northwest, when the autumn leaves are being scoured from the trees by blustery winds and driving…
Stayin’ Alive How would you like to live for 5,000 years, or even longer? There’s only one catch. You can’t move from the exact spot where you were born, for your entire life. And so it is for the Earth’s oldest known individual organisms: ancient trees. (FYI, here’s a list…
Much can be found online about why leaves change colors in the fall… …but relatively little about the final part of the story, namely leaf drop. Components of this terminal process, called leaf abscission, are actually put into place at the beginning of the leaf’s life. At the end, a…