I had never heard or seen this word before last night - I was reading about my latest object of obsession (elephants), and I ran across this passage:

In reply to:

...the small, gnarled trees coppice when laid on their sides, turning branches that touch the earth into new sets of roots.

Silent Thunder, Katharine Payne


Atomica claims it's something different: A thicket or grove of small trees or shrubs, especially one maintained by periodic cutting or pruning to encourage suckering, as in the cultivation of cinnamon trees for their bark.
See also: copse. [Well, that makes sense...]


http://m-w.com seems to recognize it as a verb, but not exactly in the way she's used it above:
transitive senses : to cut back so as to regrow in the form of a coppice
intransitive senses : to form a coppice; specifically of a tree : to sprout freely from the base


SO - can someone find a citation that substantiates her use of the word? Have I been living under a rock that I've never heard it before? Has anyone seen trees do this? Can I have a nickel?