noun
BotanyIn many clubmosses of the genus Selaginella and certain other members of the family Lycopodiaceae: a leafless branch arising at the fork of a stem, which grows downwards and bears roots on contact with the earth.
Origin
Late 19th century; earliest use found in Alfred Bennett (1833–1902), botanist and publisher. From rhizo- + -phore, after German Wurzelträger.
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