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Africanus

/af-rih-KAH-nus/
🏷️ Taxonomy Basic

Also known as: africana, africanum

A geographic epithet indicating the plant is native to Africa. Given the continent's vast climatic range, this epithet alone gives limited habitat information, but it does immediately signal a plant from outside the European or Asian flora traditionally familiar to botanists. Appears as africanus (masculine), africana (feminine), or africanum (neuter).

Etymology

From Latin Africanus, meaning "of Africa," from Africa (the continent, named after a Berber people, the Afri).

Example

Agapanthus africanus (African lily), Pelargonium africanum, and Osteospermum (African daisy) all originate from the extraordinarily diverse flora of the African continent.

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