hydrophyte
[ hahy-druh-fahyt ]
/ ˈhaɪ drəˌfaɪt /
noun
a plant that grows in water or very moist ground; an aquatic plant.
QUIZZES
BECOME A PRO CHEF WITH THIS EXQUISITE CUISINE QUIZ!
Even if you can't be a professional chef, you can at least talk like one with this vocabulary quiz.
Question 1 of 9
You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?
OTHER WORDS FROM hydrophyte
hy·dro·phyt·ic [hahy-druh-fit-ik], /ˌhaɪ drəˈfɪt ɪk/, adjectivehy·dro·phyt·ism, nounWords nearby hydrophyte
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
British Dictionary definitions for hydrophyte
hydrophyte
/ (ˈhaɪdrəʊˌfaɪt) /
noun
a plant that grows only in water or very moist soil
Derived forms of hydrophyte
hydrophytic (ˌhaɪdrəʊˈfɪtɪk), adjectiveCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for hydrophyte
hydrophyte
[ hī′drə-fīt′ ]
A plant that grows wholly or partly submerged in water. Because they have less need to conserve water, hydrophytes often have a reduced cuticle and fewer stomata than other plants. Floating leaves have stomata only on their upper surfaces, and underwater leaves generally have no stomata at all. Because water is readily available, hydrophytes also have a reduced root system and less vascular tissue than other plants (which also makes plant parts less dense and helps them float). Hydrophytes tend to have less supportive tissue as well, since they are buoyed by water. Many species of hydrophytes (such as the Eurasian milfoil) have divided leaves that have less resistance to flowing water. The lotus, water lily, and cattail are hydrophytes. Compare mesophyte xerophyte.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.