Sentence:  In other cases, the main stem is arrested, sooner or later, either by flowering, by the failure of the terminal bud, or the more vigorous development of some of the lateral buds, and thus the trunk is lost in the branches, or is <WSD>"deliquescent</WSD>", as in most of our deciduous-leaved trees. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Branching so that the stem is lost in branches, as in most deciduous trees.