a. Relating to bryology;
n. One versed in bryology. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ Gr. &unr_; moss + -logy. ] That part of botany which relates to mosses. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. (Chem.) A bitter principle obtained from the root of the bryony (Bryonia alba and Bryonia dioica). It is a white, or slightly colored, substance, and is emetic and cathartic. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ L. bryonia, Gr.
Black bryony,
‖n. pl. See Cryptogamia. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. any of numerous plants of the division Bryophyta.
adj. of or pertaining to bryophytes. [ WordNet 1.5 ]
n. the class of plants comprising the true mosses, having leafy rather than thalloid gametophytes; it comprises the orders
‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_; moss + &unr_; animal. ] (Zool.) A class of Molluscoidea, including minute animals which by budding form compound colonies; -- called also
☞ They are often coralike in form and appearance, each small cell containing an individual zooid. Other species grow in delicate, flexible, branched forms, resembling moss, whence the name. Some are found in fresh water, but most are marine. The three principal divisions are