In botany, describing a plant that has lost or does not have normal leaves, or having leaves that are reduced or modified.
From apo- (away) and -phyllous (relating to leaves from Greek phyllon), describing plants where normal leaves are absent or have departed from the usual form.
Cacti and succulents are apophyllous in a sense—they've evolved to lose or transform leaves to survive in dry climates. Some parasitic plants are completely apophyllous because they don't need to photosynthesize at all!
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