anthophilous

adjective

an·​thoph·​i·​lous an-ˈthä-fə-ləs 

: feeding upon or living among flowers

anthophilous insects

Did you know?

Parrots love eucalyptus flowers. That's because anthophilous birds are naturally attracted to "ornithophilous" flowers-which is to say, flowers that are pollinated by birds. The "-philous" in both of those terms is the combining form that means "loving" (from Greek -philos). "Anthophilous" uses the Greek word anthos, meaning "flower," while "ornithophilous" traces back to Greek ornis, meaning "bird." "Ornithophilous" is one of a whole swarm of specialized words that identify flowers in terms of the flower-loving creatures that pollinate them. "Entomophilous" flowers, for example, are pollinated by anthophilous insects, such as bees. There's even a word specifically for plants that are pollinated by bees: "melittophilous" (from the Greek word melitta, meaning "bee").

Examples of anthophilous in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Whether an anthophilous or floraphile, lovers of flowers no longer have to pack the car and make a three-hour trek to the Brenham countryside to frolic in the state's most brilliant blossom. —David Taylor, Houston Chronicle, 17 Mar. 2018

Word History

Etymology

antho- + -philous, after earlier anthophile, borrowed from French

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

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