cryp·to·gam

(krĭp′tə-găm′)

A member of a formerly recognized taxonomic group that included all seedless plants and plantlike organisms, such as mosses, algae, ferns, lichens, and fungi.

[From New Latin Cryptogamia, former group name : crypto- + -gamia, -gamy.]

cryp′to·gam′ic, cryp·tog′a·mous (-tŏg′ə-məs) adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

cryptogam

(ˈkrɪptəʊˌɡæm)

(Botany) (in former plant classification schemes) any organism that does not produce seeds, including algae, fungi, mosses, and ferns. Compare phanerogam

[C19: from New Latin Cryptogamia, from crypto- + Greek gamos marriage]

ˌcryptoˈgamic, cryptogamous adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cryp•to•gam

(ˈkrɪp təˌgæm)

n.

a plant that bears no true flowers or seeds and that reproduces by spores, as the ferns, mosses, fungi, and algae.

[1840–50; < New Latin Cryptogamia. See crypto-, -gamy]

cryp`to•gam′ic, cryp•tog′a•mous (-ˈtɒg ə məs) adj.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

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

plant life, flora, plant - (botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion

thallophyte - any of a group of cryptogamic organisms consisting principally of a thallus and thus showing no differentiation into stem and root and leaf

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

Comparative cryptogam ecology: a review of bryophyte and lichen traits that drive biogeochemistry.

LICHENS AND ALLIED FUNGI OF THE INDIANA FOREST ALLIANCE ECOBLITZ AREA, BROWN AND MONROE COUNTIES, INDIANA INCORPORATED INTO A REVISED CHECKLIST FOR THE STATE OF INDIANA

Those authors found intensively surveying large areas (referred to as floristic habitat sampling) captures cryptogam diversity more effectively than sampling smaller representative plots.

Lichens and allied fungi of Awenda Provincial Park, Ontario: diversity and conservation status

(2005), the study area is situated in bioclimatic subzone B, and the vegetation is classified as rush/grass, forb, cryptogam tundra.

Monitoring least weasels after a winter peak of lemmings in Taimyr: body condition, diet and habitat use

Assessment of sediment yield by splash erosion on a semi-arid soil with varying cryptogam cover.

Costras Biologicas: "Ingenieras del suelo" en ecosistemas aridos y semiaridos

Substrates: M-moss, L-lichen, C-unspecified cryptogam, S-soil, A-aquatic sediment.

The tardigrada of Southern Africa, with the description of minibiotus harrylewisi, a new species from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae)

Li XR, Zhou HY, Wang XP, Zhu YG, O'Conner PJ (2003) The effects of sand stabilization and revegetation on cryptogam species diversity and soil fertility in the Tengger Desert, Northern China.

Soil nematode community succession in stabilised sand dunes in the Tengger Desert, China

A cryptogram is a coded message, but what is a cryptogam?

QUIZ OF THE DAY

At each point, vegetation within 3 m above the point was recorded in the following categories: tree, sapling, tree seedling, cane, shrub, grass, forb and cryptogam. Only trees and cane were identified by species.

Human use and small mammal communities of Araucaria forests in Neuquen, Argentina

Day Fort stepped up on his promising debut effort to cruise to a length and a half success over Perfect Night, but his market rival Cryptogam ran too freely to threaten.

Racing: Balding hunts a new Trick

Day Fort stepped up on his promising debut effort to cruise to a length and a half success over Perfect Night but his market rival Cryptogam pulled her way to defeat.

Royal trip for Cyclist

Cryptogam has shown enough in the only two starts of her career to suggest she will be well up to winning the Racing Welfare Median Auction Maiden Stakes.

Racing: Azur to open her account

Cryptogam cover An indicator of surface stability, resistance to erosion and nutrient availability 5.

Old minesites meet their measure