Also ‑phyta and ‑phytic.
A plant or plant-like organism.
Greek phuton, a plant, from phuein, come into being.
Words in ‑phyte divide into two classes. Some describe the way plants live; for example, epiphytes (Greek epi, upon) grow on other plants. Others refer to specific groups of plants; for example, bryophytes (Greek bruon, moss) are members of a group that comprises the mosses and liverworts.
Members of the latter set are often linked to systematic names for groups that end in ‑phyta (from the Greek plural form phuta, plants). Two instances are Chlorophyta (Greek khlōros, green), a division of lower plants that comprises the green algae, and Pteridophyta (Greek pteris, pterid‑, fern), a division of flowerless green plants that comprises the ferns and their relatives.
A less obvious member of the set is neophyte, a person who is new to a subject, skill, or belief; this is literally a person ‘newly planted’ (Greek neos, new), whose figurative sense derives from St. Paul's use of it for a new convert.
Terms ending in ‑phyte have associated adjectives in ‑phytic: epiphytic, saprophytic, xerophytic.
Examples of words in -phyte
Word origins are from Greek unless otherwise stated.
bryophyte
a division of small flowerless green plants which comprises the mosses and liverworts
bruon, moss
charophyte
a division of lower plants that includes the stoneworts
Latin Chara, a plant of uncertain identity
dermatophyte
a pathogenic fungus that grows on skin, mucous membranes, hair, nails, feathers, and other body surfaces, causing ringworm and related diseases
derma, dermat‑, skin, hide
endophyte
a plant, especially a fungus, which lives inside another plant
endon, within
epiphyte
a plant that grows on another plant, especially one that is not parasitic
epi, upon
gametophyte
the gamete-producing phase of a plant with alternating generations
English gamete
geophyte
a plant propagated by means of underground buds
gē, earth
halophyte
a plant adapted to growing in saline conditions, as in a salt marsh
hals, halo‑, salt
hydrophyte
a plant which grows only in or on water
hudōr, water
macrophyte
a plant, especially an aquatic plant, large enough to be seen by the naked eye
makros, long, large
osteophyte
a bony outgrowth associated with the degeneration of cartilage at joints
osteon, bone
saprophyte
a plant, fungus, or micro-organism that lives on dead or decaying organic matter
sapros, putrid
sporophyte
the asexual phase of plants with alternating generations
spora, spore
xerophyte
a plant which needs very little water
xēros, dry
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