Lithophyte

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A plant that grows on the surface of rocks, obtaining nutrients from mineral matter and organic debris rather than from soil
2. An organism that lives and flourishes on rocky substrates, extracting sustenance from the stone and accumulated organic material
3. A plant adapted to establish itself on bare rock faces, deriving its nourishment from minerals and weathered stone rather than traditional earth

Etymology: A lithophyte is a plant that grows on rock, or in rock crevices, rather than in soil. The name is a plain compound built from two Greek elements: "lithos", meaning stone or rock, and "phyton", meaning plant, which gives the English suffix "-phyte". The same pattern appears in "epiphyte", a plant that grows on another plant, and "halophyte", a plant that tolerates salty ground. The compound is a technical formation rather than an old folk word. Its parts are classical, but the combined term was coined by botanists and ecologists when they needed a precise label for plants that live on bare stone, such as certain lichens, mosses and ferns clinging to cliffs. Because the word is built transparently from its parts, its meaning follows directly from the components: stone plus plant, a plant of stone.

Synonyms: rock plant, stone plant