griseum

Griseum is the neuter singular form of the Latin adjective griseus, meaning gray or grayish. In scientific naming, griseum is used as a specific epithet in botanical and zoological Latin names to indicate a gray coloration or pale gray features of a species, specimen, or variety.

The epithet griseum follows Latin grammar by agreeing with the gender of the generic name. Masculine genera typically take griseus, feminine genera take grisea, and neuter genera take griseum. As a result, you may encounter related forms such as griseus, grisea, and griseum across different taxa, all conveying the same descriptive sense of color.

In practice, griseum is not a standalone taxon but a descriptor embedded within a binomial (or trinomial) name. It helps convey a visible characteristic of the organism, such as fur, scales, seeds, leaves, or other gray features, and is italicized in formal writing, with the genus capitalized and the species lowercase.

Beyond taxonomy, the term appears in historical scientific literature as a color descriptor in Latin descriptions of specimens or illustrations. While contemporary usage often prefers more explicit color terms, griseum remains part of the nomenclatural tradition that underpins the naming of grayish forms in plants, animals, and related groups.