Psilophyte
/ˈsaɪləfaɪt/noun
An early term for a primitive, usually fossil vascular plant, especially one resembling the Devonian genus Psilophyton.
Did you know?Psilophytes helped paleobotanists reconstruct some of the earliest vascular-plant body plans, including branching stems before true leaves and roots became widespread.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*peys- / *bʰew-
“Roots associated respectively with stripping or making bare, and growing or becoming.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
psilós
“Bare, stripped, or smooth; the source of the first element.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
phytón
“A plant or something that has grown; related to phýein, “to grow.””
19th Century
Scientific Latin/Greek
Psilophyton
“A genus name meaning approximately “bare plant,” applied to Devonian fossil plants with naked-looking branching axes.”
19th–20th Century
English
psilophyte
“A member of a broad, historical grouping of primitive fossil vascular plants.”
Modern English
English
psilophyte
“An obsolete or historical botanical term, retained mainly in discussions of early vascular-plant evolution.”