pteridophyte

[tuh-rid-uh-fahyt, ter-i-doh-]

noun

1. any plant of the division Pteridophyta, characterized by vascular tissue and differentiation into root, stem, and leaves, comprising the ferns, horsetails, and club mosses.

pteridophyte

/ ˈtɛrɪdəʊˌfaɪt, ˌtɛrɪˈdɒfɪtəs, ˌtɛrɪdəʊˈfɪtɪk /

noun

1. (in traditional classification) any plant of the division Pteridophyta, reproducing by spores and having vascular tissue, roots, stems, and leaves: includes the ferns, horsetails, and club mosses. In modern classifications these plants are placed in separate phyla

pteridophyte

1. Any of various vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds; a seedless vascular plant. The pteridophytes include the lycophytes, the horsetails, and the ferns, as well as a small group of related plants called the psilophytes and several extinct phyla.

Other Word Forms

• pteridophytic adjective
• pteridophytous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pteridophyte¹

1875–80; < New Latin Pteridophyta; pterido-, -phyte

Word History and Origins

Origin of pteridophyte¹

C19: from pterido-, from Greek pteris fern + _-phyte

Example Sentences

Manual of the phanerogams and pteridophytes of western Texas.

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The macrosporangia are also ordinarily known as “ovules,” a name given before it was known that these were the same as the macrosporangia of the higher pteridophytes.

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The tree has a very perfect root system, but different from that of any pteridophytes.

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The general plan of the root is much like that of the pteridophytes.

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In the upper part of the prothallium several large archegonia are formed in much the same way as in the pteridophytes.

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