Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The collection of organisms, such as algae and bacteria, that live on the surface of submerged plants and other underwater objects.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun ecology A mixture of algae, cyanobacteria, heterotrophic microbes, and detritus that is attached to submerged surfaces in most aquatic ecosystems.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin, from Greek periphuton, from neuter sing. of periphutos, planted all over, from periphuein, to grow around, cling to : peri-, peri- + phuein, to grow; see bheuə- in Indo-European roots.]

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