Aculeatus
/ak-yoo-lee-AH-tus/Also known as: aculeata, aculeatum
A morphological epithet describing a plant armed with prickles — sharp, pointed outgrowths derived from the outer bark or skin, technically distinct from true spines (which are modified stems or leaves). Roses have prickles, not spines, making aculeatus more botanically precise than spinosus in many contexts. Appears as aculeatus (masculine), aculeata (feminine), or aculeatum (neuter).
Etymology
From Latin aculeatus, meaning "having prickles" or "sharp-pointed," from aculeus (a prickle, sting), diminutive of acus (a needle).
Example
“Rosa acicularis and Smilax aculeata are both armed with the sharp prickles this epithet describes, outgrowths of the surface layer that snap off cleanly rather than the deeper spines of a hawthorn.”