coccinea

Coccinea is a Latin feminine adjective used in biological nomenclature as a species epithet. Derived from a term meaning scarlet or red, it is employed to indicate red coloration in many organisms, most often plants where flowers or fruits are notably red.

In taxonomy, the epithet must agree in gender with the genus name; as coccinea is feminine, it typically accompanies feminine genera (or is chosen to align with the Latin grammar of the full binomial). Other gendered variants include coccineus (masculine) and coccineum (neuter).

The use of color-based epithets such as coccinea is common in botanical and zoological naming. It reflects a descriptive approach used by early taxonomists and remains part of modern nomenclature, although many names are historical and may not always accurately describe the organism today.

Because epithets can be reused across many genera, “coccinea” appears across diverse groups without implying any taxonomic relationship among them. It is one of several color descriptors used in scientific names, alongside alba (white), rubra (red), and lutea (yellow). In practice, the epithet serves as a descriptive cue about appearance rather than a statement about phylogeny.