a layer of parenchyma cells that is formed at the bases of fruits, flowers, and leaves before abscission. As the parenchyma disintegrates, the organ becomes separated from the plant
abscission layer in American English
noun
Botany
the layer of specialized, cutinized parenchyma cells that develops in the abscission zone, the disintegration of which causes abscission
Also called: separation layer
Word origin
[1915–20]This word is first recorded in the period 1915–20. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: collage, costar, decoder, markup, supernationalism
Examples of 'abscission layer' in a sentence
abscission layer
An abscission layer forms at the leaf stalks, weakening and eventually severing their attachment to the twigs from which, in spring, they grew.