defoliating
Removing plant greenery
Defoliating means stripping leaves from plants or trees.
The term applies both to natural processes—drought or disease defoliating a forest—and deliberate human action: The army used Agent Orange as a defoliating agent in Vietnam.
In skincare, defoliating sometimes substitutes for exfoliating, meaning to remove dead skin cells.
Larval moths or butterflies
- beetlesHard-winged insects
- gypsy mothInvasive leaf-devouring insect
- Japanese beetleInvasive scarab species
- bagwormsMoth larvae in debris cases
leafminers · sawflies · aphids · locust swarm · infestation · skeletonizing · chewing insects
Removing outer layers
- thinningReducing density or number
- pruningCutting vegetation for health
- airflowMovement of atmosphere
- grape vinesClimbing plants producing wine fruit
tobacco · cotton · canopy management · disease prevention · ripening · yield
Wartime defoliant chemical
- herbicideVegetation-destroying chemical
- desiccantMoisture-absorbing material
- paraquatToxic methyl viologen herbicide
- glyphosateBroad-spectrum systemic herbicide
dioxin · spraying · drift · runoff · contamination · exposure · toxicity · residue
Sheds foliage seasonally
- autumnPost-summer cooling period
- fallDescend under gravity
- leaf dropShedding of foliage
- dormancySuspended biological activity
senescence · abscission · chlorophyll · color change · shedding · maple · oak
caterpillars
Larval moths or butterflies
- beetlesHard-winged insects
- gypsy mothInvasive leaf-devouring insect
- Japanese beetleInvasive scarab species
bagworms · leafminers · sawflies · aphids · locust swarm · infestation · skeletonizing · chewing insects
stripping
Removing outer layers
grape vines · tobacco · cotton · canopy management · disease prevention · ripening · yield
Agent Orange
Wartime defoliant chemical
- herbicideVegetation-destroying chemical
- desiccantMoisture-absorbing material
- paraquatToxic methyl viologen herbicide
glyphosate · dioxin · spraying · drift · runoff · contamination · exposure · toxicity · residue · application
deciduous
Sheds foliage seasonally
dormancy · senescence · abscission · chlorophyll · color change · shedding · maple · oak
Vietnam
Southeast Asian coastal nation
tactical · strategic · combat · veterans · exposure · legacy · ecological damage · guerrilla · concealment · reconnaissance
- removalremove, elimination, delete, erasing, erase
defoliatingleafing
Casually turning pages
leafing out · sprouting · budding · greening · foliation
defoliatingpreserving
Protecting from deterioration