phytolith

English

A scanning electron microscope image of phytoliths extracted from elephant grass

Etymology

From phyto- +‎ -lith.

Noun

phytolith (plural phytoliths)

1. A small particle of silica or mineral that occurs in many plants.
   • 2016 October 29, “Sedges, not cereals, fed first settlers”, in New Scientist, number 3097, page 15:

     Environmental archaeologist Monica Ramsey, at the University of Toronto, Canada, and her colleagues studied phytoliths – microscopic silica crystals that form in plant tissues – from the site.

Derived terms

• phytolithic

Translations

mineral particle

• Dutch: fytoliet m
• Finnish: fytoliitti
• German: Phytolith (de) m
• Greek: φυτόλιθος (el) m (fytólithos)