vernus
/VER-nus/🏷️ Taxonomy● Basic
Also known as: verna, vernum
A seasonal epithet attached to masculine genera for plants that flower or break dormancy in spring. Unlike the -alis form, this adjective changes its ending to agree with the genus, which is why one meaning appears under three spellings. Appears as vernus (masculine), verna (feminine), or vernum (neuter).
Etymology
From Latin vernus, meaning "of spring," from ver (spring).
Example
“Ficaria verna (lesser celandine) and Geum vernum (spring avens) show the same epithet shifting ending to match a feminine and a neuter genus.”