What does epiphyte mean?
An epiphyte is a plant that grows on another plant — most often a tree — using its host purely for physical support while drawing moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, and organic debris around it. Unlike parasites, epiphytes do not take anything from their host's tissues and generally cause no harm; they simply occupy an elevated perch. Familiar examples include many orchids, bromeliads, mosses, ferns, and Spanish moss. Epiphytes are especially abundant in tropical rainforests, where they form a substantial part of the canopy ecosystem, but they also occur in temperate regions. The word comes from the Greek roots epi- ('upon') and phyton ('plant'), so it literally means 'plant upon a plant'. Botanists and gardeners use the adjective epiphytic to describe such growth habits. Understanding the term helps clarify why certain houseplants, like moth orchids, thrive when mounted on bark rather than planted in ordinary potting soil — they evolved never to touch the ground at all.
nounA plant that grows on the surface of another plant, such as a tree, for physical support but derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain rather than from its host.
- A plant that grows non-parasitically upon another plant, using it only for physical support and obtaining water and nutrients from the air, rain, and accumulated debris.
- (More broadly) any organism that lives on the surface of a plant in this non-parasitic way.
"The orchid, an epiphyte, clung to the rainforest branch without ever touching the ground."
"Mosses, ferns, and orchids are among the most familiar epiphytes of the tropical forest canopy."
"In the humid greenhouse, every branch seemed to support some delicate epiphyte taking root in the bark."
Regular plural formed by adding -s; standard in all contexts.
"The cloud forest canopy supports thousands of epiphytes."
Some of the world's most famous houseplants — orchids and bromeliads — aren't soil plants at all; in the wild they're epiphytes that live their whole lives perched high in the treetops.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of epiphyte
The word epiphyte derives from the Greek epi-, meaning 'on' or 'upon', combined with phyton, meaning 'plant', so it literally denotes a 'plant upon a plant'. The term was coined in the early 19th century as botanists sought precise vocabulary for non-parasitic aerial plants, distinguishing them from true parasites. It belongs to a wider family of scientific words built on phyton, including neophyte ('newly planted', later 'new convert') and the general suffix -phyte used across botanical terminology.
Related word forms
How epiphyte is actually used
Epiphyte is a technical term used chiefly in botany and ecology, though it also appears in gardening and nature writing. It is formal in register but well understood by plant enthusiasts. The corresponding adjective is 'epiphytic'.
Easily confused with epiphyte
An epiphyte uses its host only for support and does not harm it, whereas a parasite draws nourishment from its host and typically causes damage.
An epiphyte spends its entire life off the ground, while a hemiepiphyte begins or ends its life rooted in soil, as many strangler figs do.