Category: dictionary

Abscission

sycamore leaf frost
A plant will abscise a part either to discard a member that is no longer necessary, such as a leaf during autumn, or a flower following fertilisation, or for the purposes of reproduction. Most deciduous plants drop their leaves by abscission before winter, whereas evergreen plants continuously abscise their leaves. Another form of abscission is fruit drop, when a plant abscises fruit while still immature, in order to conserve resources needed to bring the remaining fruit to maturity. If a leaf is damaged, a plant may also abscise it to conserve water or photosynthetic efficiency, depending on the ‘costs’ to the plant as a whole. The abscission layer is a greenish-grayish color.–Wikipedia

Arithmomania

numbered rocks
Sufferers may for instance feel compelled to count the steps while ascending or descending a flight of stairs or to count the number of letters in words. They often feel it is necessary to perform an action a certain number of times to prevent alleged calamities. Other examples include counting tiles on the floor or ceiling, the number of lines on the highway, or simply the number of times one breathes or blinks–Wikipedia

mandibular prognathism

Toulouse the bulldog
Keeping an eye on the cat next door. Toulouse is a French Bulldog, a brachycephalic breed that exhibits notable mandibular prognathism. The word “prognathism” derives from Greek pro (forward) and gnathos (jaw).
Brachycephaly, from latin roots meaning “short” and “head”, is descriptive term for animals whose skulls or noses are shorter than typical for the species.Wikipedia.