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From Latin ab- ("off") and -sciss- ("cut", root = scind). I assumed that the -sciss- part would be related to the word scissors; shows you how much I know! They are from two different origins, with the spelling of scissors perhaps being affected by the other root. Scissors (which should be cissors) comes from the same Latin root as words like incision and decision.
Greek allo- means "different, other". Related to English "else" and Latin alius (whence English "alias" and "alien"). Is this the allago- of Sinningia allagophylla? Beats me -- I can't find any references to allago.
Greek anthos, meaning "flower". In anther and many flower names, such as chrysanthemum ("gold flower"), dianthus ("god flower"), nematanthus ("thread flower"), etc. From the Indo-European root andh-.
Greek carpos, meaning "fruit". In carpel and streptocarpus (but not carpal, as in carpal tunnel).
Greek chloros, "(yellow) green". In chlorophyll, chlorine, chlorotic.
Latin suffix meaning "inhabitant of, residing on" (related to "colony"). Used in Sinningia species name rupicola (rupes = "cliff"), muscicola (muscus, "moss"), and the suggested but superseded name arenicola (arena = "sand"). The species name Nematanthus corticola means "growing on bark" (Latin cortic- [nom. sing. cortex] = "bark").
Linnaeus introduced this term for seed leaves. It is a Greek word meaning cup-shaped cavity, from kotyle, hollow vessel.
Suffix meaning "resident of". Latin. See, for example, Sinningia amambayensis. Related to the English suffix -ese, as in Vienna + -ese = Viennese.
From Greek epi- "on" and phytos "plant". Coined word for a plant growing upon another without being a parasite.
Greek prefix meaning "good".
Latin flora, meaning "flower" (and derived from the same root). In Sinningia species names curtiflora ("short flower") and tubiflora ("tube flower"). In Paliavana tenuiflora ("thin [or perhaps rare] flower") and Paliavana sericiflora ("silk[en] flower"). Also, in words like florist, floriferous, flourish, and inflorescence.
Latin folia, meaning "leaf" (cf. foliage). In Sinningia species names gigantifolia ("giant leaf") and defoliata ("without leaves"). Related to the Greek stem phyll, also meaning "leaf".
Latin galea, meaning "helmet".
From Greek leukos, meaning white. In Sinningia species name leucotricha. Also present in words such as leucocyte (white blood cell) and leukemia.
From Greek macro-, meaning large.
In Sinningia species names
macropoda (see
Somewhat surprisingly, this root is not related to the other Indo-European root for big, namely mega-.
Greek mega- and Latin magn- both mean large. Magn- is found in the Sinningia species name magnifica.
The root of mega- and magn- is related to other Indo-European stems like Latin major, English much, and Indic maha-.
Greek morphe ("form").
Greek nektar, "drink of the gods", from roots nek- "death" (cf. necrosis) and tere "overcoming" (related to English "through").
This suffix, used in many biological names to mean "-like" or "resembling", comes from the Greek eidos ("shape, form"), the source of English "idol" and "kaleidoscope". This is one of a whole host of words in many Indo-European languages descended from the root weid- ("to see"). Examples are "wit" and "wise" (through Germanic) and "vision" and "view" (through Latin, from videre, "to see").
These words all come from the same Latin root ped- (nom. sing. pes) meaning foot. Presumably, they are the foot of the flowerstalk or leafstalk, respectively. From the same root are pedal, pedestrian, and biped. Petal is from an unrelated root.
This ped- root is related to the Greek root pod- of the same meaning.
From Greek petalos.
From Greek phyllon, "leaf".
Related to Latin folia.
In Sinningia species names allagophylla
and macrophylla (see
From Greek plax ("flat, surface"). Related to English words "flake" (through Germanic) and "plank" (through Latin).
The Greek root pod- means foot.
It is present in the species name macropoda ("big foot", see
This root is related to the Latin ped-.
From Greek porphyreos, meaning purple. Used in gesneriad species names such as Nautilocalyx porphyrotrichus and Streptocarpus porphyrostachus.
From Greek rhiza, meaning root, source of words like rhizome, licorice, and mycorrhiza. Note that the -r- doubles ("geminates") after a prefix ending in a vowel.
Rhiza may be related to the other Indo-European words of the same meaning, including Latin radic- [nom. sing. radix, source of radical and radish] and Germanic wrad, source of root and wort.
From Latin specere, "look at". In Sinningia species names speciosa ("good to look at" = "handsome") and conspicua ("conspicuous, easy to see"). Also in many English words (spectacle, spectacular, special, species, inspect, respect, etc.).
From Greek stachys, meaning "ear of grain". Usually used in names to mean "stem", as in Sinningia macrostachya ("big stem") and Streptocarpus porphyrostachys ("purple stem").
From Greek taxis "arrangement". In English taxonomy and phyllotaxis (see phyll).
From Greek trich- [nom. sing. thrix, meaning "hair"],
source of Sinningia species name leucotricha
(see
From Latin tuber, meaning lump or swelling.
Not related to "tube".
Distantly related to English word "thumb".
The most interesting derivation from this root (Indo-European teue) is Greek
bous ("ox, bull, cow") + tyros ("cheese", presumably
referring to the swelling during cheesemaking)
From Latin vertex, meaning whirlpool. The original Indo-European root wert meant "turn", and has many derivatives, including the English suffix -ward and many words from Latin ending in -verse and -vert.