roothold

American  

[root-hohld, root-] / ˈrutˌhoʊld, ˈrʊt- /

noun

1. attachment of a plant to soil by means of its roots; support of a plant through the growing and spreading of its roots.

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Example Sentences

Moisture left in the soils as the reservoir drained appears to have aided the restoration, creating a brief window for water-loving plants to get a roothold.

From Science Magazine

She’ll also be tracking whether invasive plants are able to gain a roothold and how environmental factors such as water and sun exposure influence the vegetation community.

From Science Magazine

And once they gain a roothold outside Africa, fire often follows.

From Science Magazine

Ascending redwoods in northwestern California, he found trunks wrapped in blankets of fuzzy, grass-green moss; twigs covered by whimsical chartreuse lichen wisps; and in places where they could eke out a precarious roothold, a variety of saplings and bushes — currant, huckleberry, hemlock and more — some of which had epiphytic communities of their own.

From New York Times

Flecks of green suggested plants were finding a roothold.

From Scientific American