Leaf flushing


Leaf flushing is the production of a flush of new leaves typically produced simultaneously on all branches of a bare plant or tree. Leaf flushing succeeds leaf fall, and is delayed by winter in the temperate zone or by extreme dryness in the tropics but leaf fall and leaf flushing in tropical deciduous forests can overlap, with new leaves produced during the same period when old leaves are shed. Leaf-flushing can be synchronized among trees of a single species or even across species in an area.
Studies show that insect herbivory plays a major role in moulding leaf flushing phenology in trees of the seasonal tropics.