Phytoextraction

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A method wherein plants are utilized to take up and sequester harmful materials from contaminated soil and water sources
2. An approach that leverages the natural abilities of plants to absorb and concentrate toxic elements from environmental settings
3. The practice of employing plants to absorb and accumulate contaminants from polluted soil or water environments

Etymology: A compound built in modern times from two parts with very different histories. The first part, "phyto-", comes from Ancient Greek "phutón," meaning "plant," which in turn grows from "phúein," "to bring forth, produce." The second part, "extraction," is a much later English noun drawn from Latin, where "extrahere" meant "to draw out." Put together, the term describes drawing something out of the ground through plants. The idea behind it is simple but unusual: rather than digging up contaminated soil or pumping out polluted water, growers plant species that take in metals such as cadmium, zinc, or lead through their roots and store them in their tissues. The plants are then harvested and disposed of safely, leaving the land cleaner. Ancient Greeks had the root for "plant," but the combined word belongs to the modern era of environmental science, built by English speakers from classical building blocks rather than inherited from antiquity.

Synonyms: plant extraction, bioremediation, phytoremediation, green extraction, soil remediation