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pneumatophore

[noo-mat-uh-fawr, -fohr, nyoo-, noo-muh-tuh-, nyoo-]
noun
  1. Botany. a specialized structure developed from the root in certain plants growing in swamps and marshes, serving as a respiratory organ.
  2. Zoology. the air sac of a siphonophore, serving as a float.

Origin of pneumatophore

First recorded in 1855–60; pneumato- + -phore
Related formspneu·ma·toph·or·ous [noo-muh-tof-er-uh s, nyoo-] /ˌnu məˈtɒf ər əs, ˌnyu-/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for pneumatophore

pneumatophore

noun
  1. a specialized root of certain swamp plants, such as the mangrove, that branches upwards, rising above ground, and undergoes gaseous exchange with the atmosphere
  2. a polyp in coelenterates of the order Siphonophora, such as the Portuguese man-of-war, that is specialized as a float
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
pneumatophore in Science

pneumatophore

[nōō-măt′ə-fôr′, nōō′mə-tə-]
  1. A specialized root that grows upwards out of the water or mud to reach the air and obtain oxygen for the root systems of trees that live in swampy or tidal habitats. The “knees” of mangroves and the bald cypress are pneumatophores. Also called air root
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.