pennata

Pennata is a Latin feminine adjective meaning feathered or plumed. The root penna, meaning feather or wing, gives rise to related forms such as pennatus (masculine) and pennatum (neuter). In scientific naming, pennata is used as a descriptive epithet to indicate feather-like or finely divided, pinnate features in an organism or structure.

One widely cited example is Senegalia pennata, a Southeast Asian shrub formerly placed in Acacia as Acacia pennata. Its feathery, bipinnate leaves give the plant a feather-like appearance, which the epithet reflects.

Pennata appears in other species names across plants and animals, generally signaling feather-like morphology. It is not a taxonomic group or rank; it is an adjective used within binomial or trinomial names, matching gender and number of the genus.

Related terms include pennatus, pennatum, and other forms such as pinnate and penniform, which describe leaf or appendage structure.