Decipiens
/deh-SIP-ee-enz/🏷️ Taxonomy●●● Advanced
An unusual epithet recording not a physical feature but a botanical trap — the plant is deceptively similar to another, well-known species and has historically been mistaken for it. A rare admission of confusion in nomenclature. Appears as decipiens (both genders).
Etymology
From Latin decipiens, present participle of decipere, meaning "to deceive" or "to ensnare," from de- (away) + capere (to take, to catch).
Example
“Rubus decipiens and various Hieracium decipiens (hawkweeds) carry this candid epithet — an honest acknowledgment by the naming botanist that the plant had previously fooled experts into misidentifying it as a different species.”