cryptogamic

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   relating to cryptogams, the formerly grouped plants and plant-like organisms that reproduce by spores rather than flowers or seeds

   The naturalist catalogued the island's cryptogamic flora, including its ferns, mosses, and lichens.

From cryptogam + -ic. Cryptogam was formed from Greek kryptos, 'hidden,' + gamos, 'marriage,' because the reproductive structures of these organisms were once thought concealed. The category is historical rather than a single modern taxonomic group.

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