Meanings
nounhygrophyte (plural hygrophytes)
plural hygrophytes
- biologyAny plant that thrives on very wet but not submerged ground.
Between xerophytes and hygrophytes we find a great many intermediate forms (Mesophytes), comprising, in fact, the majority of British plants, which grow in meadows, pastures, cultivated fields, and in woods and plantations of deciduous trees (Beech, Oak, Birch, etc.).
1907, Francis Cavers, Plant Biology: A Text-book of Elementary Botany Arranged for Modern Methods of Teaching
Origin
From hygro- (“moist”) + -phyte (“plant”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch hygrofyt
- hygrofyttype of plant
Finnish kosteikkokasvi
- kosteikkokasvitype of plant
Cite this entry
APA
hygrophyte. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hygrophyte
MLA
“hygrophyte.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hygrophyte. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hygrophyte,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hygrophyte.
Source: hygrophyte on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.