The big event’s timing is determined by changing chemistry in the tiny abscission zone, a narrow band of cells at the base of each petiole, or leaf stalk, where it attaches to the stem or branch.

More information: Xiaohong Wen et al, MYB74 transcription factor guides de novo specification of epidermal cells in the abscission zone of Arabidopsis, Nature Plants (2025).

For example, research on petal abscission in fragrant roses performed in 2020 utilising transcriptomic profiling revealed extensive changes in gene expression within the abscission zone.

Secondary cell division characteristically occurs in the abscission zone at the base of the petiole of leaves of many kinds of plants, and the cells resulting from this division have long been ...

In these types of trees, the abscission zone fails to develop fully during autumn, allowing the leaves to stay on the tree. "The reason why some trees keep their withered leaves into winter is ...

When the abscission process is altered, the number of marcescent leaves may increase and include tree species that normally drop their leaves. Not all trees are affected the same way.

Anatomical analysis of two sunflower cultivars revealed a differentiated region at the junction of the flowers' petal and achene. Cell division at the abscission zone of the short-lived cultivar ...

Abscission occurs when a chemical reaction weakens small cells at the base of leaves as a tree is preparing to go dormant. When those cells weaken, stems can no longer support the weight of their ...

Abscission is to cut away something. Don’t confuse it with the word absession, which is apparently an exercise routine meant to build stomach muscles, often called abs for short.

After the tree has sequestered the resources, an abscission layer forms at the base of the leaf petiole (stem connecting leaf to branch). Cells within the abscission zone differentiate, forming ...