subaerophytic

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adjective

Living in a terrestrial habitat such as on rocks or stones, where most water is atmospheric but there occurs another intermittent water source such as spray from an adjacent waterfall.

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Meanings

adjectivesubaerophytic (not comparable)
  1. not comparableLiving in a terrestrial habitat such as on rocks or stones, where most water is atmospheric but there occurs another intermittent water source such as spray from an adjacent waterfall.

    Several cyanobacteria live as endolithic species inside rocks (within the crystal lattice) in very arid, hot or cold deserts, usually subaerophytic.

    2015, John D. Wehr, Robert G. Sheath, J. Patrick Kociolek, Freshwater Algae of North America: Ecology and Classification
    2 more examples

    Occurrence: many species are epilithic on submerged stones or subaerophytic in spray and zones (sensu Rott et al. 2006) but may also be common as planktic members.

    2016, Orlando Necchi Jr., River Algae, page 12

    Gloeothece plays a substantial role within aerophytic or subaerophytic communities or on submerged substrates all over the world (Komárek and Anagnostidis 1998).

    2017, Patrick C. Hallenbeck, Modern Topics in the Phototrophic Prokaryotes

Origin

From sub- + aerophyte + -ic.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

subaerophytic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subaerophytic

MLA

“subaerophytic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subaerophytic. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “subaerophytic,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subaerophytic.

Source: subaerophytic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.