longiflora

Longiflora is a botanical Latin species epithet meaning “long-flowered.” It is not a taxon in its own right, but rather a descriptive element used in the scientific names of various plant species to indicate a characteristic of the flowers, typically elongated petals, corollas, or floral spurs.

As an adjective, longiflora is feminine in form and must agree in gender with the genus name. Corresponding masculine and neuter forms are longilorus (or longiflorus) and longiflorum, respectively. The use of longiflora reflects the descriptive tradition of botanical nomenclature, where morphological traits are embedded in species names rather than in the broader classification alone.

The epithet appears across multiple plant genera, often associated with ornamental or wildflowers that display relatively long or tubular flowers. Because longiflora describes a physical trait rather than a single lineage, species bearing the epithet do not constitute a monophyletic group; they simply share a similar floral form that attracted the namer’s attention.

Taxonomic placement for any given longiflora-bearing species is determined by the genus and its current family classification, which can change with new phylogenetic research. Therefore, the presence of the epithet does not imply close relatedness among different genera that use it.

See also: longiflora as part of other epithets in botany; related forms such as longiflorus and longiflorum.