Definition of "cryptogam" [cryp•to•gam]

• A member of a formerly recognized taxonomic group that included all seedless plants and plantlike organisms, such as mosses, algae, ferns, and fungi. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The nitrogen fixation potential of arctic cryptogam species is influenced by enhanced UV-B radiation."
• "To the north of this zone is the high Arctic, which consists of polar semi-desert communities (Fig. 7.18) in the south, characterized by cryptogam – herb, cushion plant – cryptogam, and, to a limited extent, mire communities."
• "To the extreme north is the polar desert where only about 5% of the ground surface is covered by herb – cryptogam communities (Fig. 7.19)."