Toxicus
/TOK-sih-kus/🏷️ Taxonomy●● Intermediate
Also known as: toxica, toxicum
A safety epithet indicating the plant is poisonous — containing compounds toxic to humans or animals. It is one of the most practically important epithets, giving an immediate warning about the plant's chemistry. Appears as toxicus (masculine), toxica (feminine), or toxicum (neuter).
Etymology
From Latin toxicus, meaning "of poison" or "poisonous," from Greek toxikon (poison for arrows), from toxon (bow, arrow).
Example
“Taxus baccata (yew) and Aconitum — though not always named toxicus — both contain the compounds this epithet warns of, and Apocynum toxicum makes the danger explicit in the name itself.”