- In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous (/dɪˈsɪdʒu.əs/) means “falling off at maturity” and “tending to fall off”, in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flowering; and to the shedding of ripe fruit. The antonym of deciduous in the botanical sense is evergreen.
- Alula Australis (stars.astro.illinois.edu)
ALULA AUSTRALIS (Xi Ursae Majoris). Ursa Major walks on legs identified by three pairs of close but unrelated stars that the ancient Arabs called the “springs (leaps) of the gazelle” that lie north of Leo Minor. From west to east they are Talitha and Kappa UMa, Tania Borealis and Australis, and Alula Borealis and Australis, the last a bright-end-fourth magnitude (3.78) star better known as Xi UMa.