Minor
/MY-nor/🏷️ Taxonomy● Basic
A comparative size epithet meaning the plant is smaller than a closely related species, often used alongside major (the larger). It does not mean the plant is tiny in absolute terms — only that it is smaller in comparison to its sibling species. Appears as minor (both genders).
Etymology
From Latin minor, meaning "smaller" or "lesser," the comparative form of parvus (small).
Example
“Vinca minor (lesser periwinkle) contrasts with Vinca major, and Ranunculus minor describes the smaller of related buttercup species — the epithet always implying a known larger counterpart.”