| 释义 |
lithophyte|ˈlɪθəfaɪt|
[f. Gr. λίθο-ς stone + ϕυτόν plant. Cf. next.]
1. Zool. A polyp the substance of which is stony or calcareous, as some corals.
1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1824) III. 324 Of the lythophytes and sponges. 1831Beechey Voy. Pacific, etc. I. 263 The aversion of the lithophytes to fresh water. 1862M. Hopkins Hawaii App. 413 It is the general assumption that coral islands are built up from the bottom of the ocean by the unaided labour of lithophytes. 1875Lyell Princ. Geol. II. iii. xlix. 594 All were increasing their dimensions by the active operations of the lithophytes.
attrib.1853Th. Ross Humboldt's Trav. III. xxvi. 113 Pectens, venuses, and lithophyte polypi.
2. Bot. A plant growing upon stone or rock.
1895Oliver tr. Kerner's Nat. Hist. Plants I. 56 The number of lithophytes is comparatively very small. They include those lichens and mosses which cling in immediate contact to the surface of stones and derive their food in a fluid state direct from the atmosphere.
Hence lithoˈphytic, -ˈphytous adjs., pertaining to or of the nature of a lithophyte.
1828–32in Webster. 1836–9Todd Cycl. Anat. II. 408/2 The propagation of some of the lithophytous polypes resembles that of the hydra. 1895Oliver tr. Kerner's Nat. Hist. Plants I. 81 The atmospheric deposits supply lithophytic plants with a sufficient quantity of nutrient salts. Ibid. 82 Many mosses are completely lithophytic in early stages of development whilst later they figure as land-plants. |