epiphyte
Plural: epiphytes
Noun
- plant that derives moisture and nutrients from the air and rain; usually grows on another plant but not parasitic on it
- A plant that grows on another, using it for physical support but obtaining no nutrients from it and neither causing damage nor offering benefit; an air plant.
- A fungus that grows on a plant but does not feed upon it saprotrophically (an epiphytic fungus). (The science of detecting and studying any such symbiosis as may be involved in this relationship is still developing.)
- pl. -S a plant growing upon another plant
Origin / Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἐπιφύτον (epiphúton, “one [plant] that grows upon another plant”), from ἐπί (epí, “on top of”) + φυτόν (phutón, “plant”), via epi- (“above, over”) + -phyte (“plant”).
Synonyms
aerophyte, air plant, epiphytic plant
Scrabble Score: 18
epiphyte: valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordepiphyte: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
epiphyte: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 18
epiphyte is a valid Words With Friends word