berlandieri

Berlandieri is not a single taxon but a Latin adjectival species epithet used in the scientific names of various organisms to honor the 19th-century French naturalist Jean Louis Berlandier. It appears in the binomial names of plants and sometimes other organisms, reflecting the tradition of naming species after explorers and naturalists.

In taxonomy, berlandieri functions as the second part of a binomial name and is written in lowercase, following the genus. The epithet indicates that the described species was named to recognize Berlandier’s contributions to natural history, often related to his work collecting and documenting flora and fauna in North America during the 19th century. Because it is an epithet rather than a single taxon, multiple, taxonomically unrelated species across different genera may bear berlandieri in their names.

A well-known example is Opuntia berlandieri, commonly referred to as Berlandier prickly pear, a cactus native to Texas and northern Mexico. It has been used in horticulture and plant breeding, particularly as a drought-tolerant rootstock for other Opuntia species. The epithet also appears in other genera as taxonomic revisions occur, leading to changes in species assignments over time.

Because berlandieri is used across diverse groups, there is no unified description tied to the epithet itself beyond its commemorative origin. Its presence signals historical taxonomic practice of honoring Berlandier, with the exact organisms bearing the name varying as classifications are updated.