Deadwood
/DED-wood/🌲 Arboriculture● Basic
Also known as: dead branches, dead limbs
Branches, twigs, or stubs on a tree that have died but remain attached to the trunk or scaffold branches. Deadwood may result from natural self-pruning, disease, storm damage, or shading. While small deadwood in the interior canopy is normal and provides wildlife habitat, large dead branches over targets (pedestrian areas, structures) should be removed for safety. Deadwood removal is the most basic and least controversial form of tree pruning.
Etymology
Old English dēad (dead) + wudu (wood)
Example
“Removing deadwood over the footpath is the most urgent pruning task for this mature oak.”