Caducous (Adjective)
Meaning
Shed at an early stage of development; "most amphibians have caducous gills"; "the caducous calyx of a poppy".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The leaves of the aspen tree are caducous, falling off in the autumn, but growing back in the spring.
- In some species of fish, the dorsal fin is caducous, disappearing as the fish matures.
- The flowers of the rhododendron plant have a caducous corolla, which drops off after blooming.
- Many species of frogs have caducous tails, which they lose as they transition from tadpoles to adult frogs.
- Some species of squid have caducous arms, which they can detach and use as decoys to distract predators.