Squamosus
/skwa-MOH-sus/🏷️ Taxonomy●● Intermediate
Also known as: squamosa, squamosum
A texture epithet describing a plant surface covered in scales — either flat, overlapping leaf-scales (as in some succulent rosettes or conifer bark), or roughened scale-like projections. Appears as squamosus (masculine), squamosa (feminine), or squamosum (neuter).
Etymology
From Latin squamosus, meaning "full of scales" or "scaly," from squama (a scale).
Example
“Pinus squamosa and Dasylirion squamosum both have the prominently scaled surfaces the epithet describes — patterned with overlapping scale-like structures that give bark or leaf bases their rough, tiled texture.”