Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

lithophyte

American  
[lith-uh-fahyt] / ˈlɪθ əˌfaɪt /

noun

  1. Zoology. a polyp with a hard or stony structure, as a coral.

  2. Botany. any plant growing on the surface of rocks.

lithophyte British  
/ ˌlɪθəˈfɪtɪk, ˈlɪθəˌfaɪt /

noun

  1. a plant that grows on rocky or stony ground

  2. an organism, such as a coral, that is partly composed of stony material

"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
lithophyte Scientific  
/ lĭth′ə-fīt′ /

  1. A plant that grows on rock and derives its nourishment chiefly from the atmosphere.

Other Word Forms

  • lithophytic adjective

Etymology

Origin of lithophyte

First recorded in 1765–75; litho- + -phyte

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We detached some blocks containing oysters eight inches in diameter, pectens, venuses, and lithophyte polypi.

From Project Gutenberg

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.