Editing Deciduous (section)

=== Function ===

[[File:Autumn Leaf 08Nov17.jpg|thumb|alt=Fallen leaves covering a patch of ground|Deciduous plants in mid- to high [[latitude]]s shed their leaves as temperatures drop in [[autumn]].<ref>{{cite book |last1= Bonan |first1= Gordon |title= Ecological Climatology: Concepts and Applications |date= 2015 |publisher= Cambridge University Press |isbn= 9781316425190 |page= 294 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kq8kDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA294 |language= en }}</ref>]]

Plants with deciduous foliage have advantages and disadvantages compared to plants with evergreen foliage.<br>
Since deciduous plants lose their leaves to conserve water or to better survive winter weather conditions, they must regrow new foliage during the next suitable growing season; this uses resources which evergreens do not need to expend.<br>
Evergreens suffer greater water loss during the winter and they also can experience greater [[predation pressure]], especially when small. Deciduous trees experience much less branch and trunk breakage from glaze ice storms when leafless, and plants can reduce water loss due to the reduction in availability of liquid water during cold winter days.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Lemon |first= P. C. |year= 1961 |title= Forest ecology of ice storms |journal= Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club |volume= 88 |issue= 1 |pages= 21–29 |doi= 10.2307/2482410 |jstor= 2482410 }}</ref>

Losing leaves in winter may reduce damage from insects; repairing leaves and keeping them functional may be more costly than just losing and regrowing them.<ref name=Labandeira1994>{{cite journal
 |last1= Labandeira |first1= C. C.
 |last2= Dilcher |first2= D. L.
 |last3= Davis |first3= D. R.
 |last4= Wagner |first4= D. L.
 |year= 1994
 |title= Ninety-seven million years of angiosperm-insect association: paleobiological insights into the meaning of coevolution
 |journal= Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
 |volume= 91
 |issue= 25
 |pages= 12278–12282
 |doi= 10.1073/pnas.91.25.12278
 |pmid= 11607501
 |pmc= 45420
 |bibcode= 1994PNAS...9112278L
|doi-access= free
 }}</ref> Removing leaves also reduces [[Cavitation#Vascular plants|cavitation]] which can damage [[xylem]] vessels in plants.<ref>{{Citation |last=Mayr |first=Stefan |title=Freezing Stress in Tree Xylem |date=2016 |work=Progress in Botany 77 |pages=381–414 |editor-last=Lüttge |editor-first=Ulrich |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-25688-7_13 |access-date=2024-10-31 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-25688-7_13 |isbn=978-3-319-25688-7 |last2=Améglio |first2=Thierry |editor2-last=Cánovas |editor2-first=Francisco M. |editor3-last=Matyssek |editor3-first=Rainer|url-access=subscription }}</ref> This then allows deciduous plants to have xylem vessels with larger diameters and therefore a greater rate of [[transpiration]] (and hence CO<sub>2</sub> uptake as this occurs when [[stomata]] are open) during the summer growth period.

==== Deciduous woody plants ====

The deciduous characteristic has developed repeatedly among woody plants. Trees include [[maple]], many [[oak]]s and [[nothofagus]], [[elm]], [[beech]], [[aspen]], and [[birch]], among others, as well as a number of [[conifer]]ous [[genus|genera]], such as [[larch]] and ''[[Metasequoia]]''. Deciduous shrubs include [[honeysuckle]], [[viburnum]], and many others. Most temperate woody vines are also deciduous, including [[Vitis|grape]]s, [[poison ivy]], [[Virginia creeper]], [[wisteria]], etc. The characteristic is useful in plant identification; for instance in parts of [[Southern California]] and the [[American Southeast]], deciduous and [[evergreen oak]] species may grow side by side.{{cn|date=November 2023}}

Periods of leaf fall often coincide with seasons: winter in the case of cool-climate plants or the dry-season in the case of tropical plants,<ref>{{cite book |last= Cundall |first= Peter |year= 2005 |title= Flora: The Gardener's Bible: Over 20,000 Plants |location= Ultimo, NSW, Australia |publisher= ABC Publishing |isbn= 0-7333-1094-X }}</ref> however there are no deciduous species among tree-like [[monocotyledonous]] plants, e.g. [[Arecaceae|palms]], [[yucca]]s, and [[Dracaena (plant)|dracaenas]]. The [[hydrangea hirta]] is a deciduous woody shrub found in [[Japan]].{{cn|date=November 2023}}