phytolithn.
/ˈfʌɪtəlɪθ/, U.S. /ˈfaɪdəˌlɪθ/ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > variety or species > [noun] > fossil or petrified plant
rock plant1673
stone-plant1676
phytolite1794
phytolith1895
1895 I. K. Funk et al. Standard Dict. Eng. Lang. II. at Phytolite Phytolith.
2. A minute mineral particle formed inside plant tissues by the deposition of silicates, often surviving as a microfossil in geological or archaeological deposits.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > cell or aggregate tissue > [noun] > tissue > mineral particle in
phytolith1958
phytolite1999
1958 Jrnl. Soil Sci. 9 154 Nardus stricta..contains phytoliths which could not be mistaken for those from any other of the grasses encountered.
1960 Proc. Royal Soc. Victoria 72 21 Phytoliths are important, if not abundant, constituents of dust in Australia. The common varieties are opal-phytoliths, but calcite-phytoliths and quartz-phytoliths have also been detected.
1984 J. J. Lowe & M. J. C. Walker Reconstructing Quaternary Environments iii. 120 In Illinois phytolith remains have been used to demonstrate changes from forest to grassland during the Holocene.
2001 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 98 2102 The presence of these phytoliths in archaeological sites can be used to infer harvesting and processing of Zea grains.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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