Definition of caducous in English:
caducous
adjective
Botany(of an organ or part) easily detached and shed at an early stage.
‘poppies have caducous sepals that are shed after the bud has opened’- ‘He states that the verification of the occurrence of bracteoles could be useful, because there is a tendency to use ‘absent’ for ‘caducous’, which could lead to erroneous conclusions.’
- ‘It had aseptate hyphae and sporangia were papillate, both caducous and non-caducous, and their shape ranged from ovoid to elongate and distorted.’
- ‘Reproduction and dispersion are doubtless accomplished by the caducous branchlets.’
- ‘The caducous trees prevail, such as ñire, lenga, rauli and pellín oak, although there are also perennial trees such as cypress, and canas, rushes, etc.’
- ‘In the poppy family, the sepals are caducous.’
Pronunciation
Origin
Late 17th century (in the sense ‘epileptic’): from Latin caducus ‘liable to fall’ (from cadere ‘to fall’) + -ous.
Are You Learning English? Here Are Our Top English Tips