Crispus
/KRIS-pus/🏷️ Taxonomy●● Intermediate
Also known as: crispa, crispum
A texture and form epithet describing tightly curled, ruffled, or crisped margins — more extreme than undulatus (gently wavy). The crisping gives leaves or petals a frilly, crinkled texture. Appears as crispus (masculine), crispa (feminine), or crispum (neuter).
Etymology
From Latin crispus, meaning "curly," "wavy," or "having curly hair," related to crispare (to curl).
Example
“Rumex crispus (curly dock) has the characteristic tightly crisped, wavy leaf margins that make it immediately recognisable, and Mentha crispa (curly mint) has the ruffled, frilly leaves the epithet captures.”