Macroflora
Encyclopedia
Macroflora is a term used for all the plants occurring in a particular area that are large enough to be seen with the naked eye. It is usually synonym
ous with the Flora
and can be contrasted with the microflora, a term used for all the bacteria and other microorganism
s in an ecosystem
.
Macroflora is also an informal term used by many palaeobotanists
to refer to an assemblage of plant fossil
s as preserved in the rock. This is in contrast to the flora
, which in this context refers to the assemblage of living plants that were growing in a particular area, whose fragmentary remains became entrapped within the sediment from which the rock was formed and thus became the macroflora.
Synonym
Synonyms are different words with almost identical or similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn and onoma . The words car and automobile are synonyms...
ous with the Flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and can be contrasted with the microflora, a term used for all the bacteria and other microorganism
Microorganism
A microorganism or microbe is a microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters, or no cell at all...
s in an ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
.
Macroflora is also an informal term used by many palaeobotanists
Paleobotany
Paleobotany, also spelled as palaeobotany , is the branch of paleontology or paleobiology dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments , and both the evolutionary history of plants, with a...
to refer to an assemblage of plant fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s as preserved in the rock. This is in contrast to the flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
, which in this context refers to the assemblage of living plants that were growing in a particular area, whose fragmentary remains became entrapped within the sediment from which the rock was formed and thus became the macroflora.