protophyte
(ˈprəʊtəʊfaɪt)
[ad. mod.L. prōtophytum: see prec. So F. protophyte.]
A plant belonging to the division Protophyta; a unicellular plant. (Used as the Eng. singular of Protophyta.)
| 1853 in Dunglison Med. Lex. 1862 Dana Man. Geol. ii. i. 270 The plants thus far observed are sea-weeds and Protophytes. 1884 Trans. Victoria Inst. 78 The protophyte obtains the materials of its nutrition from the air and moisture that surround it. |