The Collaborative International Dictionary
Air plant \Air" plant`\ (Bot.) A plant deriving its sustenance from the air alone; an a["e]rophyte.
Note: The ``Florida moss'' ( Tillandsia, many tropical orchids, and most mosses and lichens are air plants. Those which are lodged upon trees, but not parasitic on them, such as the Spanish moss Tillandsia usneoides), are epiphytes.
Wiktionary
n. epiphyte
WordNet
n. plant that derives moisture and nutrients from the air and rain; usually grows on another plant but not parasitic on it [syn: epiphyte, aerophyte, epiphytic plant]
Usage examples of "air plant".
Marrow took the air plant and guided Dolph out to where the weighted net came down.
The flames in the cabin weren't intolerable, and already the air plant was whining its eagerness to make the air pure and scentless.
If my patchwork air plant breaks down I'd want to get inside fast.
One thing about the Belt ships: at least the air plant could handle pipe tobacco.