rutinaria

Rutinaria is a botanical epithet used in the scientific names of some plant species. It is not the name of a distinct genus or a formal taxonomic group on its own. The term is derived from Latin, with rutinarius meaning related to rutin, a flavonoid glycoside found in various plants. In botanical practice, rutinaria has been applied to species that were reported or believed to contain rutin, or that were associated with rutin-rich sources, rather than to indicate a standardized taxonomic character shared across a clade.

Because rutinaria is descriptive rather than taxonomically definitive, its use varies across genera and authors. A species bearing the epithet rutinaria should be consulted in its original description and in later taxonomic treatments to understand the rationale for the name and whether rutin content or related traits were explicitly noted.

Rutin itself, also known as quercetin-3-O-rutinoside, is studied for antioxidant and medicinal properties. When the epithet rutinaria appears, it often reflects an ethnobotanical or phytochemical context rather than a universal characteristic of a broader group of plants. The name does not designate a single, uniform taxon, and its meaning can differ depending on historical naming practices and the source of the description.

See also: rutin, flavonoids, plant secondary metabolites, botanical nomenclature, Latin epithets.