cryptophyte

[ krip-tuh-fahyt ]

noun
  1. Botany. a plant that forms its reproductive structures, as corms or bulbs, underground or underwater.

  2. Biology. cryptomonad.

Origin of cryptophyte

1
First recorded in 1900–05; crypto- + -phyte

Other words from cryptophyte

  • cryp·to·phyt·ic [krip-tuh-fit-ik], /ˌkrɪp təˈfɪt ɪk/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for cryptophyte

cryptophyte

/ (ˈkrɪptəˌfaɪt) /


noun
  1. any perennial plant that bears its buds below the soil or water surface

Derived forms of cryptophyte

  • cryptophytic (ˌkrɪptəˈfɪtɪk), adjective

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