A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

-gena,-ae (s.m.I): (in Gk. & L. comp.: in Latin, a masculine first declension noun [> L. gigno, genui, genitum 3., to bear, give birth to; passive, to be born of]; see -genus,-a,-um (adj.A).

NOTE: the masculine gender; see exceptions in Zoology below.

Alienigena,-ae (s.m.I) [alienus + gigno] foreign-born; a foreigner, stranger, alien (Glare; Lewis & Short); born of, in or belonging to another country; “substantives indicating what is imported or exotic” (Glare); cf. adjective: alienigenus,-a,-um (adj.A): born in a foreign land, foreign, alien (Lewis & Short); (of things) foreign, alien; of or connected with other countries; of different or unfamiliar origin or stock; also “produced from or consisting of different materials, heterogeneous” (Lewis & Short); different in kind (Glare).

Faunigena,-ae (s.m.I), “the son or descendant of Faunus” (Glare)): Faunus + -gena,-ae (s.m.I); adj. faunigenus,-a,-um (adj.A), born of [the god] Faunus.

Graecigena,-ae (s.m.I) (Graicus + gigno): a Greek by birth, a Greek.

Grajugena,-ae (s.m.I): Graius-gigno: a Grecian by birth, a Greek; adj. Grajugenae reges (Lewis & Short).

Niligena,-ae (s.c.I), (Nilus,-i (s.m.II), the river Nile + -gena,-ae (s.m.I): one born on the banks of the Nile; Egyptian (Lewis & Short) = Nilicola,-ae (s.f.I).

Nubigena,-ae (s.m.I) (nubes + gigno) “cloud-born, born of clouds or of a cloud; the Centaurs, “whom Ixion begot of a cloud” (Lewis & Short); cloud-dweller, dweller in the cloud-forests; adj. nubigenus,-a,-um (adj.A).

Phoebigena,-ae (s.m.I) phoebus + -gena; a son of Phoebus, i.e. Aesculapius (Glare.)

Saturnigena,-ae (s.m.I) (Saturnus,-i (s.m.II) + -gigno) offspring of Saturn; of Jupiter (Lewis & Short).

Verbigena,ae (s.m.I): “he who was born of the Word, i.e. Christ” (Lewis & Short) [> L. verbum + gigno].

NOTE: there are no generic names in –gene or –gena in botany.

NOTE: except Melongena [Philip] Mill. (Solanaceae) this is a noun because Miller made a genus out of the ADJECTIVE melongenus,-a,-um (adj.A). The genus was later transferred as a noun in apposition to the genus name Solanum (Solanum melongena Linn. Sp. pl. p. 186. 1753)).

NOTE: Solanum melongena, the epithet is a noun in apposition.

NOTE: in zoology, genera ending in -gena are feminine nouns perhaps on the basis of genus formation by Linnaeus:

Melongena,-ae (s.f.I), Eggplant, a genus of marine gastropods, a sea snail; M. basilica; M. bispinos; m. CALIFORNICA; TYPE SPECIES Melongena melongena (Linn.,); Melongena patula (Linn. 1758).

Molluscs: Calyptogena,-ae (s.f.I): Calyptogena magnifica is a species of giant white clam found clustered around hydrothermal vents at abyssal depths in the Pacific Ocean. Also Ectenagena,-ae (s.f.I); Ruth D. Turner, Calyptogena pacifica;

Mollusc: Phreagena-ae (s.f.I).