Necrophyte

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An organism, especially a plant, that obtains its nourishment from dead or decaying organic material
2. A living thing that grows on and draws its sustenance from dead organic matter rather than from living tissue
3. Any plant or fungus-like organism that lives by breaking down and absorbing decomposing organic remains

Etymology: Necrophyte is a plant-biology term built from two Greek elements: "nekros," meaning "dead," and "phyton," meaning "plant." The suffix "-phyte" is the standard modern scientific ending for a plant of a particular kind, as in "epiphyte" (a plant growing on another plant) or "halophyte" (a plant that tolerates salt). Put together, the word names a plant that grows on or from dead organic matter, such as a fungus or a moss that thrives on decaying wood. The "necro-" part is the same Greek stem that gives English "necropolis," the city of the dead, and "necromancy," divination by consulting the dead. Its use here is literal rather than sinister: it describes the plant's habitat, not any supernatural link. Like most words of this type, it is a modern scientific coinage assembled from classical roots, so ancient Greeks would not have recognised the combined term.