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Hastatus

/has-TAH-tus/
🏷️ Taxonomy●● Intermediate

Also known as: hastata, hastatum

A leaf shape epithet describing a leaf whose base has two pointed lobes that project outward at roughly right angles — like the blade of a spear with its flanges. Distinct from sagittatus, where the lobes point backward. Appears as hastatus (masculine), hastata (feminine), or hastatum (neuter).

Etymology

From Latin hastatus, meaning "armed with a spear" or "spear-shaped," from hasta (a spear).

Example

Rumex acetosella (sheep's sorrel) and Atriplex hastata (spear-leaved orache) both have the characteristic outward-pointing basal lobes that distinguish the hastate from the sagittate leaf base.

Example Plant

🌿Sagittaria hastata