arizonica

Arizonica is a Latin geographic epithet used in biological nomenclature to indicate an association with the U.S. state of Arizona. In binomial names, arizonica is the species epithet and is always written in lowercase, following the genus name. The epithet itself does not describe a taxon; rather, it signals geographic origin or locality related to the species.

The term appears across various taxa, particularly in plants, and to a lesser extent in animals, where it denotes that the species was discovered, described, or commonly found in Arizona or bordering regions. A well-known example is Cupressus arizonica, the Arizona cypress, a conifer native to the southwestern United States. In some taxonomic treatments, this species is placed in the genus Hesperocyparis as Hesperocyparis arizonica.

Geographic epithets like arizonica help convey distribution information within scientific names, but they are supplementary to formal descriptions, type specimens, and broader taxonomic revisions. The use of arizonica reflects historical and biogeographic notes about where a species is associated, rather than implying a particular ecological role or level of relatedness beyond the species name itself.