archaeophyte

Meanings

1. A plant which was introduced to an area by humans (or arrived naturally, but from an area in which it was present as a human introduction) and became naturalized before 1500 C.E. (but especially in prehistoric times).

Etymology

From archaeo- (“ancient; early”) + -phyte (“a plant that grows in a specified habitat”). Archaeo- is derived from Ancient Greek ἀρχαῖος (arkhaîos, “ancient, primeval”), from ᾰ̓ρχή (ărkhḗ, “beginning, origin”) (from ἄρχω (árkhō, “to begin; to command, rule”) + -ῐος (-ĭos, “suffix forming adjectives”); while -phyte is from Ancient Greek φῠτόν (phŭtón, “plant; tree”), from φῠ́ω (phŭ́ō, “to arise, grow, spring up”) + -ον (-on, “suffix forming nouns”).