Protophyte
Pronunciation : Pro"to*phyte
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [Proto- + Gr. (Bot.)
Definition : Defn: Any unicellular plant, or plant forming only a plasmodium, having reproduction only by fission, gemmation, or cell division.
Note: The protophytes (Protophyta) are by some botanists considered an independent branch or class of the vegetable kingdom, and made to include the lowest forms of both fungi and alg?, as slime molds, Bacteria, the nostocs, etc. Cf. Carpophyte, and O?phyte.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913