Epiphyte

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-009942",
  "term": "Epiphyte",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. A plant growing on another plant; more generally, any organism growing attached on a plant.\n\n2. A plant that grows upon another plant. The epiphyte does not \"eat\" the plant on which it grows, but uses the plant for structural support or as a way to get off the ground and into the canopy environment.\n\n3. Plant growing entirely aboveground, on the trunk or branches of woody plants (Raunkiaer 1934).\n\n4. Plant that grows upon another plant. The epiphyte does not \"eat\" the plant on which it grows, but uses the plant for structural support or as a way to get off the ground and into the canopy environment.\n\n5. Narrowly, an organism that grows on a plant. Often used loosely, it refers to the community of algae, microfauna, and particulate matter existing on the surface of submerged aquatic vegetation. The epiphyte does not consume the plant on which it grows, but mainly uses the plant for structural support or as a way to get off the benthic surface and into the canopy environment.",
  "subject": "Water",
  "references": [
    "Sediment Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) Glossary",
    "Chesapeake Bay Glossary",
    "USDA Forest Service Fire Effects Information System Glossary",
    "NSTEPS Online Glossary of Terms; N-STEPS Online Glossary of Terms"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/epiphyte/"
}