coriacea

Coriacea is a Latin adjective used in scientific names to describe a leathery texture. In botanical nomenclature, coriacea (the feminine form) or its related forms coriaceus and coriaceum are common species epithets applied to plants when leaves, bark, seed coats, or fruit are thick and tough. The epithet is not a taxon by itself but a descriptor that appears in the binomial name of many distinct species across genera.

The term reflects a morphological trait rather than a geographic or cultural attribute. Because Latin adjectives must agree with the gender of the genus, coriacea is typically found with feminine-gendered genera in plant names. As a result, there are multiple distinct species bearing the epithet coriacea that are not closely related to one another, each described for having leathery characteristics in some part of the plant.

A well-known example is Acacia coriacea, a shrub or small tree native to parts of Australia and the broader region. In this species and others with the same epithet, the leathery texture serves as a noticeable identifying feature and often features prominently in taxonomic descriptions and field identification.

In summary, coriacea is a descriptive epithet rather than a single taxonomic group. It signals a leathery characteristic observed in various plant species and helps distinguish those taxa within their respective genera.