aquatic organisms, such as certain algae, that live attached to rocks or other surfaces
Word origin
C20: from Greek, from peri- + phutos, from phuein to grow
periphyton in American English
(pəˈrɪfəˌtɑn; ˌ pɛrɪˈfaɪtən)
noun
the tiny, aquatic plant and animal organisms that attach to objects in the bed of a body of water, as certain algae or insect larvae living on submerged plant stems and leaves