sapro-

Putrefaction or decay.

Greek sapros, putrid.

A saprophyte (Greek phuton, a plant) is an organism that lives on dead or decaying organic matter; the term is a general one which can refer also to fungi and microorganisms; as these last two groups are not plants, some specialists prefer saprobe (Greek bios, life) for them; a saprophagous organism feeds on decaying organic matter; one that is saproxylic (Greek xulon, wood) lives on dead or decaying wood; sapropel (Greek pēlos, mud, earth, clay) is sediment laid down in stagnant water; something saprogenic is caused or produced by putrefaction or decay.