ˈair-ˌplant
[air- 6.]
A plant which grows on a tree or other elevated object, and derives its nourishment from atmospheric moisture, as is the case with many tropical orchids.
| 1842 Gray Struct. Bot. iii. §1 (1880) 35 Epiphytes or Air-Plants have roots which are..unconnected with the ground. 1879 B. Taylor Germ. Lit. 64 Like the air-plants of Brazil, their gorgeous blossoms and exquisite fragrance seem to spring from nothing. |