Amarus
/a-MAH-rus/🏷️ Taxonomy●● Intermediate
Also known as: amara, amarum
A taste epithet indicating the plant has a notably bitter flavor — in its bark, sap, fruit, leaves, or roots. Bitter plants are very often medicinal, as many secondary compounds responsible for bitterness are pharmacologically active. Appears as amarus (masculine), amara (feminine), or amarum (neuter).
Etymology
From Latin amarus, meaning "bitter" or "sharp-tasting," related to amare in the sense of "sharp sensation."
Example
“Menyanthes trifoliata (bogbean), Centaurium erythraea, and Quassia amara are all intensely bitter plants used in traditional medicine and bitter liqueurs, their taste encoded in this blunt epithet.”