pungens

Pungens is a Latin adjective used in the scientific names of various organisms. In taxonomy, it is commonly used as a specific epithet to describe a characteristic of the species, most often a sharp, pointed, or prickly feature such as thorny leaves or spiny structures, but it can also refer to a pungent or strong odor or flavor observed in some plants or animals. The word derives from Latin pungēns, the present participle of pungere, meaning to prick, to sting, or to pierce. As a descriptive epithet, pungens is an adjective that must agree in gender, number, and case with the genus name, resulting in appropriate endings across different species names.

In practice, pungens appears across various taxonomic groups, including plants and animals, where it signals a noticeable, often defensive characteristic. Because taxonomic epithets are chosen by the describing author, the exact trait highlighted by pungens may vary between taxa; in some lineages it may point to a spiny morphology, while in others it may reference a strong aroma or other pointed features observed at the time of naming.

Pungens is one of many Latin descriptors used in binomial nomenclature. Its use reflects a long-standing convention to encode observable traits into names, complementing other descriptive terms and historic naming practices. See also Latin grammar in taxonomy and binomial nomenclature.