stellatum

Stellatum is a Latin adjective used in biological nomenclature as a species epithet. The term derives from stella, meaning star, and appears in its neuter form stellatum to agree with neuter-gender genera. In zoological and botanical naming, stellatum is chosen to indicate a star-shaped feature or star-like appearance of the organism, such as star-shaped hairs (stellate trichomes), star-like inflorescences, or star-marked patterns on parts of the organism. Because Latin adjectives agree with the gender of the genus, masculine and feminine forms—stellatus and stellata—are used with corresponding masculine or feminine genera.

Stellatum as an epithet is descriptive rather than taxonomic in itself. It is employed across diverse taxa, and does not denote a single taxon or lineage. The practice of using descriptive Latin epithets in binomial nomenclature dates back to Carl Linnaeus and remains common in modern taxonomy as a way to convey notable morphological traits.

When encountering stellatum in a species name, the broader taxonomic context (the genus, higher classification, and species characteristics) is needed to understand the organism rather than the epithet alone. The term reflects nomenclatural tradition rather than a standalone biological category.

See also: Stellate, Steller, stella.