Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
geophyte

geophyte

9.9
A plant that lives for many years and keeps food underground in bulbs or tubers
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒiːəˌfaɪt/
  • Specialized
: geófito
  • Many geophytes store nutrients in their bulbs to survive dry seasons.

Examples

  • South Africa has the richest geophyte flora in the world.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Plants with subterranean dormant buds (geophytes) and those that could generate from fragments best survived the blast, scorch, and landslide.

    Academic text (1997)

  • The garden is filled with colorful geophytes that bloom in spring.

  • Tulips and daffodils are popular geophytes known for their beautiful flowers.

Surface Forms

geophyte singular
geophytes plural

Morphology

geophyte = phyte (semi-transparent) = geo + phyte

The meaning of 'earth plant' points toward a plant associated with the ground, but the exact botanical sense of surviving underground is specialized.

Etymology

Geophyte comes from two parts: geo- meaning 'earth', as in geography or geology, and -phyte meaning 'plant'. So a geophyte is an 'earth plant' that lives or stores food underground in bulbs or tubers, which helps it survive cold or dry seasons.