plumosa

Plumosa is a Latin epithet used in the scientific names of various plants and animals. Derived from the word for feather or plume, it is commonly applied to describe organisms with plume-like, feathery, or highly divided features. As a species descriptor, plumosa appears in multiple unrelated groups, reflecting a descriptive rather than a phylogenetic relationship.

In botany, plumosa is frequently used to indicate feathery or plume-like characteristics in leaves, inflorescences, or overall habit. A well-known example is Tillandsia plumosa, an epiphytic bromeliad commonly cultivated as an ornamental air plant. Tillandsia plumosa is noted for a light, delicate appearance that evokes a plume, aligning with the meaning of its epithet.

Beyond this, the term plumosa appears across diverse taxa where naming authorities found feathery morphology to be a notable feature. Because it is a descriptive epithet rather than a genus-specific label, many different genera can include species or varieties bearing the name plumosa, each with its own distinct lineage and traits.

Overall, plumosa functions as a descriptive, non-kinship-based epithet in biological nomenclature. Its repeated use across taxa highlights how morphology often informs naming, even when unrelated organisms share a similar feathery appearance.