PLANT LIFE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does plant life mean? 

• PLANT LIFE (noun)
  The noun PLANT LIFE has 1 sense:

1. (botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion

  Familiarity information: PLANT LIFE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PLANT LIFE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion

Classified under:

Nouns with no superordinates

Synonyms:

flora; plant; plant life

Hypernyms ("plant life" is a kind of...):

being; organism (a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently)

Meronyms (parts of "plant life"):

plant part; plant structure (any part of a plant or fungus)

cap; hood (a protective covering that is part of a plant)

Domain category:

botany; phytology (the branch of biology that studies plants)

Domain member category:

pappose ((of plants such as dandelions and thistles) having pappi or tufts of featherlike hairs or delicate bristles)

carnivorous ((used of plants as well as animals) feeding on animals)

hispid ((of animals or plants) having stiff coarse hairs or bristles)

saprophytic ((of some plants or fungi) feeding on dead or decaying organic matter)

insectivorous ((of animals and plants) feeding on insects)

blanched; etiolate; etiolated ((especially of plants) developed without chlorophyll by being deprived of light)

tender ((of plants) not hardy; easily killed by adverse growing condition)

dicotyledonous ((of a flowering plant) having two cotyledons in the seed)

monocotyledonous ((of a flowering plant) having a single cotyledon in the seed as in grasses and lilies)

evergreen ((of plants and shrubs) bearing foliage throughout the year)

deciduous ((of plants and shrubs) shedding foliage at the end of the growing season)

campylotropous ((of a plant ovule) curved with the micropyle near the base almost touching its stalk)

orthotropous ((of a plant ovule) completely straight with the micropyle at the apex)

anatropous; inverted ((of a plant ovule) completely inverted; turned back 180 degrees on its stalk)

amphitropous ((of a plant ovule) partly inverted; turned back 90 degrees on its stalk)

epiphytotic ((of plants) epidemic among plants of a single kind especially over a wide area)

amentaceous; amentiferous ((of plants) bearing or characterized by aments or catkins)

endangered ((of flora or fauna) in imminent danger of extinction)

half-hardy ((of plants) requiring protection from frost)

leggy; tall-growing ((of plants) having tall spindly stems)

caespitose; cespitose; tufted ((of plants) growing in small dense clumps or tufts)

ungregarious ((of plants) growing together in groups that are not close together)

clustered (growing close together but not in dense mats)

gregarious ((of plants) growing in groups that are close together)

threatened ((of flora or fauna) likely in the near future to become endangered)

peroxidase (any of a group of enzymes (occurring especially in plant cells) that catalyze the oxidation of a compound by a peroxide)

botanical medicine; herbal therapy; phytotherapy (the use of plants or plant extracts for medicinal purposes (especially plants that are not part of the normal diet))

micro-organism; microorganism (any organism of microscopic size)

parasite (an animal or plant that lives in or on a host (another animal or plant); it obtains nourishment from the host without benefiting or killing the host)

coca (dried leaves of the coca plant (and related plants that also contain cocaine); chewed by Andean people for their stimulating effect)

fugaciousness; fugacity (the lack of enduring qualities (used chiefly of plant parts))

circulation (free movement or passage (as of cytoplasm within a cell or sap through a plant))

botany; flora; vegetation (all the plant life in a particular region or period)

squamule (a minute scale)

nitrification (the oxidation of ammonium compounds in dead organic material into nitrates and nitrites by soil bacteria (making nitrogen available to plants))

perennation (the process of living through a number of years (as a perennial plant))

photosynthesis (synthesis of compounds with the aid of radiant energy (especially in plants))

alder blight (a disease of alders caused by the woolly alder aphid (a plant louse))

floccose ((of plants) having tufts of soft woolly hairs)

tenderiser; tenderizer (a substance (as the plant enzyme papain) applied to meat to make it tender)

propagate (cause to propagate, as by grafting or layering)

etiolate (bleach and alter the natural development of (a green plant) by excluding sunlight)

bruise (damage (plant tissue) by abrasion or pressure)

cultivate; domesticate; naturalise; naturalize; tame (adapt (a wild plant or unclaimed land) to the environment)

accrete (grow together (of plants and organs))

deaden; girdle (cut a girdle around so as to kill by interrupting the circulation of water and nutrients)

acid-loving (thriving in a relatively acidic environment (especially of plants requiring a pH well below 7))

alkaline-loving (thriving in a relatively alkaline environment; (especially of plants requiring a pH above 7))

apocarpous ((of ovaries of flowering plants) consisting of carpels that are free from one another as in buttercups or roses)

syncarpous ((of ovaries of flowering plants) consisting of united carpels)

sedgy (covered with sedges (grasslike marsh plants))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plant life"):

houseplant (any of a variety of plants grown indoors for decorative purposes)

perennial ((botany) a plant lasting for three seasons or more)

escape (a plant originally cultivated but now growing wild)

hygrophyte (a plant that grows in a moist habitat)

neophyte (a plant that is found in an area where it had not been recorded previously)

embryo ((botany) a minute rudimentary plant contained within a seed or an archegonium)

monocarp; monocarpic plant; monocarpous plant (a plant that bears fruit once and dies)

sporophyte (the spore-producing individual or phase in the life cycle of a plant having alternation of generations)

gametophyte (the gamete-bearing individual or phase in the life cycle of a plant having alternation of generations)

biennial ((botany) a plant having a life cycle that normally takes two seasons from germination to death to complete; flowering biennials usually bloom and fruit in the second season)

garden plant (any of a variety of plants usually grown especially in a flower or herb garden)

tracheophyte; vascular plant (green plant having a vascular system: ferns, gymnosperms, angiosperms)

poisonous plant (a plant that when touched or ingested in sufficient quantity can be harmful or fatal to an organism)

aerophyte; air plant; epiphyte; epiphytic plant (plant that derives moisture and nutrients from the air and rain; usually grows on another plant but not parasitic on it)

rock plant (plant that grows on or among rocks or is suitable for a rock garden)

autophyte; autophytic plant; autotroph; autotrophic organism (plant capable of synthesizing its own food from simple organic substances)

myrmecophyte (plant that affords shelter or food to ants that live in symbiotic relations with it)

phytoplankton (photosynthetic or plant constituent of plankton; mainly unicellular algae)

annual ((botany) a plant that completes its entire life cycle within the space of a year)

cryptogam (formerly recognized taxonomic group including all flowerless and seedless plants that reproduce by means of spores: ferns, mosses, algae, fungi)

aquatic (a plant that lives in or on water)

apomict (a plant that reproduces or is reproduced by apomixis)

acrogen (any flowerless plant such as a fern (pteridophyte) or moss (bryophyte) in which growth occurs only at the tip of the main stem)

pot plant (a plant suitable for growing in a flowerpot (especially indoors))

ornamental (any plant grown for its beauty or ornamental value)

wilding (a wild uncultivated plant (especially a wild apple or crabapple tree))

plantlet (a young plant or a small plant)

non-flowering plant (a plant that does not bear flowers)

holophyte (an organism that produces its own food by photosynthesis)

endemic (a plant that is native to a certain limited area)

crop (a cultivated plant that is grown commercially on a large scale)

microflora (microscopic plants; bacteria are often considered to be microflora)

Holonyms ("plant life" is a member of...):

kingdom Plantae; plant kingdom; Plantae ((botany) the taxonomic kingdom comprising all living or extinct plants)

 Context examples 

It is needed for animal and plant life.

(Oxygen, NCI Dictionary)

Stratospheric ozone protects life on the planet by absorbing potentially harmful ultraviolet radiation that can cause skin cancer and cataracts, suppress immune systems and damage plant life.

(First Direct Proof of Ozone Hole Recovery Due to Chemicals Ban, NASA)

Photosynthesis is needed for animal and plant life.

(Photosynthesis, NCI Dictionary)

Of personal adventures he said little, but laid stress upon the rich harvest reaped by Science in the observations of the wonderful beast, bird, insect, and plant life of the plateau.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)