Purpureus
/pur-PYOO-ree-us/🏷️ Taxonomy● Basic
Also known as: purpurea, purpureum
A color epithet indicating conspicuously purple flowers, foliage, or fruit. In classical Latin, purpureus covered a range from crimson to violet, so plants with this epithet may range from deep magenta to true purple. Appears as purpureus (masculine), purpurea (feminine), or purpureum (neuter).
Etymology
From Latin purpureus, meaning "purple" or "crimson," from purpura (the purple dye from molluscs), borrowed from Greek porphyra.
Example
“Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower) and Fagus sylvatica f. purpurea (copper beech) both take this epithet for their distinctive purple-hued parts.”