foliicolous

{{short description|Concept in plant science}}

File:foliicolous.jpgs growing on a leaf on the Amazon jungle near Tena, Ecuador]]

Foliicolous refers to the growth habit of certain lichens, algae, fungi, liverworts, and other bryophytes that prefer to grow on the leaves of vascular plants.{{cite journal |last1=Pócs |first1=Tamás |last2=Tóthmérész |first2=Béla |title=Foliicolous bryophyte diversity in tropical rainforests |journal=Abstracta Botanica |date=1997 |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=135–144}}{{cite web |title=Foliicolous lichens |url=https://www.anbg.gov.au/lichen/ecology-foliicolous.html |website=Australian National Herbarium |publisher=Australian National Botanic Gardens |access-date=23 January 2024}}{{cite web |title=Epiphyllous bryophytes |url=https://www.anbg.gov.au/bryophyte/ecology-epiphyllous.html |website=Australian National Herbarium |publisher=Australian National Botanic Gardens |access-date=23 January 2024}} Foliicolous simply means 'growing upon leaves'{{Cite web |title=Definition of foliicolous |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foliicolous |access-date=2 August 2022 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}} whilst epiphyllous derives from the Greek {{transl|grc|epi-}}{{Cite web |title=Definition of epi- |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epi- |access-date=2 August 2022 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}} meaning on or over and {{transl|grc|phyllous}} means leaf{{Cite web |title=Definition of -phyllous |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/-phyllous |access-date=2 August 2022 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}} so 'over leaf' and hypophyllous means 'under leaf'.{{Cite web |title=Definition of hypophyllous |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hypophyllous |access-date=2 August 2022 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}} The microhabitat on the leaf surface is called a phyllosphere.