ramnification

Noun

ramification (countable and uncountable, plural ramifications)

1. (also, figuratively) A branching-out, the act or result of developing branches; specifically the divergence of the stem and limbs of a plant into smaller ones, or of similar developments in blood vessels, anatomical structures etc.
   • The character of trees may be studied to advantage […] in winter, when the forms of the ramification can be seen in the naked boughs […]1829, Lincoln Phelps, Familiar Lectures on Botany, page 179

   Synonyms:

   branching

2. (figuratively, in plural, often) An offshoot of a decision, fact etc.; a consequence or implication, especially one which complicates a situation.
   • The treachery of some of the Jacobite agents (Rashleigh among the rest), and the arrest of others, had made George the First's Government acquainted with the extensive ramifications of a conspiracy long prepared, and which at last exploded prematurely […]1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], chapter X, in Rob Roy. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst...
3. An arrangement of branches.