Polymorphus
/pol-ee-MOR-fus/🏷️ Taxonomy●●● Advanced
Also known as: polymorpha, polymorphum
An epithet indicating a plant that occurs in many different forms — with significant variation in leaf shape, habit, flower color, or other features across its range. The most variable of the variability epithets, polymorphus implies diversity of form rather than simply slight variation. Appears as polymorphus (masculine), polymorpha (feminine), or polymorphum (neuter).
Etymology
From Greek polymorphos, meaning "having many forms," from poly- (many) + morphe (form, shape).
Example
“Rubus polymorpha and Salix polymorpha represent genera where natural hybridisation and ecological variation have produced such a bewildering array of forms that the naming botanist chose this most candidly all-embracing of epithets.”