periphyton

American

[puh-rif-i-ton] / pəˈrɪf ɪˌtɒn /

noun

Ecology.

the community of tiny organisms, as protozoans, hydras, insect larvae, and snails, that lives on the surfaces of rooted aquatic plants.

periphyton British

/ pəˈrɪfɪˌtɒn /

noun

aquatic organisms, such as certain algae, that live attached to rocks or other surfaces

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

periphytic

adjective

Etymology

Origin of periphyton

1940–45; probably peri- + Greek phŷton plant, -phyte, on the model of plankton

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023