lobata

Lobata is a term encountered in biological nomenclature that functions primarily as a descriptive epithet rather than a standalone taxon. The word comes from Latin, where lobatus means lobed, and lobata is the feminine form used to agree with genus names that are feminine in gender. In taxonomy, lobata is commonly used to describe a morphological feature of an organism, most often a leaf, petal, or shell with lobed margins or lobed projections.

As an epithet, lobata can appear across a wide range of taxa, including plants, animals, and fungi. Its presence signals that a part of the organism has a lobed shape, but it does not by itself indicate a particular lineage or group. Because it is descriptive rather than a formal rank or clade, there is no universally recognized taxon named simply “Lobata.”

Lobata is related to other Latin or English forms describing lobed shapes, such as lobate (English) and lobatus or lobatum (masculine and neuter Latin forms). In practice, the epithet is used in combination with the genus name to form a species binomen (for example, a hypothetical plant could be named something like Genus lobata), but the exact species and characteristics depend on the genus in question.

See also: Lobate, Lobatus, Lobation.