flocculence

plural flocculences

1. uncountableThe condition of being flocculent; wooliness, flakiness.

   This paragraph is remarkable for its own flocculence. The Times implies, without quite saying it, both that it approves of Obama's evasions […] and that it would approve if he took a different approach[…]

   2009 June 19, James Taranto, “That Was Awful. Do It Again!”, in The Wall Street Journal

2. countableuncountableA substance or condition that causes a surface to be flocculent; fluff, flakes.

   elastic, thinly skinned, easy to rupture, with purple brown flocculences when torn by hand.

   2021, Huagu Ye, Chuyuan Li, Wencai Ye, Feiyan Zeng, Fangfang Liu, Faguo Wang, Yushi Ye, Lin Fu, Jianrong Li, “Medicinal fungi”, in Common Chinese Materia Medica, →DOI

   2 more examples

   Branches and leaves become covered with the waxy filaments creating a flocculence (wool-like tufts) that indicates a heavy infestation. Rain will wash away the flocculence, but nymphs will soon secrete more.

   2003 August, “a psyllid – Boreioglycaspis melaleucae Moore”, in Featured Creatures, University of Florida Department of Entomology & Nematology, archived from the original on 16 Jun 2010

   However, its nymphs (immatures) are easy to detect from the copious amounts of waxy flocculence (white fluff) that they secrete onto melaleuca leaves and stems.

   2010, The Areawide Management Evaluation of Melaleuca quinquenervia, “Natural Enemies of Melaleuca”, in TAME Melaleuca, archived from the original on 11 Jun 2010