epiphyte
part of speech
noun (an epiphyte, epiphytes)
meaning for a pupil
An epiphyte is a plant that grows on another plant, usually a tree, for support, but does not take food from it; it gets water and nutrients from the air, rain and bits of rubbish. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science lessons on rainforests and plant adaptations, epiphytes like many orchids, bromeliads, mosses and ferns live high on tree branches to reach sunlight. It is a good example of a plant that uses another without harming it (unlike a parasite). Phrases: «epiphytic plants», «epiphytes in the rainforest canopy».
examples
- An orchid growing on a tree branch is an epiphyte. tree →
- Epiphytes live high in the rainforest to get more light. tree →
- Moss on an oak tree is a kind of epiphyte. tree →
- Bromeliads are epiphytes that hold water in their leaves. tree →
- An epiphyte does not steal food from its tree. tree →
- Tiny frogs lay eggs in pools inside epiphytes. tree →
note
Say it «EP-ih-fite». Plural: epiphytes. Adjective: epiphytic. Trap: an epiphyte is not a parasite; mistletoe is a parasite because it takes food from the tree, but an orchid is an epiphyte.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «epiphyte» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.