Psilophytaceae

9.9

A group of extinct leafless plants with tubes that carry water that lived a very long time ago

noun
/ˌsaɪləˈfaɪtəˌsi/

Specialized

: familia Psilophytaceae

Fossil records suggest that Psilophytaceae were among the earliest vascular plants to colonize land.

Examples

The simple structure of Psilophytaceae makes them important for understanding plant evolution.
Many genera within the Psilophytaceae family are known only from Devonian-aged rock formations.
The Psilophytaceae family thrived during the Devonian period.
Are Psilophytaceae related to modern plants?
Fossil records suggest that Psilophytaceae were among the earliest vascular plants to colonize land.
The simple structure of Psilophytaceae makes them important for understanding plant evolution.
Many genera within the Psilophytaceae family are known only from Devonian-aged rock formations.

Synonyms

family Psilophytaceae

vsPsilophytaceae

Specialized

9.9

An extinct family of very early land plants with tubes for moving water

focuses on being simple, leafless vascular plants from Silurian and Devonian

Surface Forms

Psilophytaceae singular

Psilophytaceas plural

Psilophytaceae plural

Morphology

Psilophytaceae = psilophyt + aceae

This is a botanical Latin family name formed with the specialized suffix '-aceae' attached to a Latin/Greek combining form; the parts are not productive English morphemes that a B1 learner could use to infer the meaning.

Etymology

Psilophytaceae breaks down into parts: psilo- meaning 'bare' and phyte meaning 'plant', with the family ending -aceae meaning 'family'. So Psilophytaceae literally means a 'family of bare plants', a helpful image for remembering these simple, leafless plants that lived very long ago.