fēˈäfəd.ə noun plural
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from phaeo- + -phyta
: a division or other category of algae that have the chlorophyll masked by brown pigments, are mostly marine, diverse in form, often of gigantic size, and anchored by holdfasts to the substrate, and are usually divided among the classes Isogeneratae, Heterogeneratae, and Cyclosporeae — see brown alga