phyton

noun

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phy·ton | \ ˈfī-ˌtän

Definition of phyton

1 : a structural unit of a plant consisting of a leaf and its associated portion of stem

2 : the smallest part of a stem, root, or leaf that when severed may grow into a new plant

History and Etymology for phyton

borrowed from French, borrowed from Greek phytón "plant" — more at phyto-

Note: Term introduced by the French botanist Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré (1789-1854) in "Recherches générales sur l'organographie, la physiologie et l'organogénie des végétaux," Mémoires présentés par divers savants à l'Académie Royale des Sciences de l'Institut de France: Sciences mathématiques et physiques, tome huitième (1843), p. 6. Offprints of the article, apparently released before the entire volume was published, are dated 1841.