A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

humilis,-e (adj.B); compar. comp. humilior,-ius (adj.B); superl. humillimus,-a,-um (adj.A): “Low. When the stature of a plant is not particularly small, but much smaller than that of kindred species. Thus, a tree twenty feet high may be low, if the other species of its genus are forty or fifty feet high” (Lindley); used also of prostrate species (as opp. to ascending, q.v.); low, low-growing, small, slight; of low birth, base, humble, poor, insignificant; (of plants) low, stunted; (of water) shallow (not high [altus] or deep [profundus], or long [longus]); opp. altus,-a,-um (part.A), q.v., high; opp. conspicuus,-a,-um (adj.A), visible, remarkable; cf. elatus,-a,-um (part.A), ‘elevated, tall;’ cf. mediocris,-e (adj.B), middle-, between high and low; see tall; see prostrate;

NOTE: DeCandolle makes ‘humilis’ a synonym of procumbens,-entis (part.B): spreading (forward), extending out “lying flat upon the ground” (Lindley); “lying on the ground or trailing but without rooting at the nodes” (Fernald 1950);

- at in humiliori (procumbenti), quamvis capsula aperta sit et prona versus terram, manet tamen semen quasi capsulae adherens.(DeCandolle), but in the lower-growing (procumbent) plant, although the capsule may be open and inclined downward toward the earth, however the seed remains as if adherent to the capsule.

- [Palmae] caudex gracilis v. robustus, elatus mediocris v. humilis (B&H), the caudex slender or robust, tall, medium-sized or low.

- [moss] humilis; perpusilla, ramis erectioribus tenuioribus,(C. Mueller), low-growing; very small, with the branches more erect, more slender.

- sporae verrucis humilibus, amyloideis praeditae, spores provided with low, amyloid warts.

- POGONOSTYLIS, species humilis, styli bulbo basi pilis longis supra ovarium reflexis fimbriato (B&H), a low-growing species with the bulb of the style fimbriate at the base with long hairs reflexed above the ovary.

- [moss] omnium congenerum humillimum, pygmaeum, Orthodontium verum et distinctissimum exiguitate, (C. Mueller), the smallest of all its congeners, a pygmy, a true Orthodontium and very distinct by its smallness.

- caulibus flexuosis humilibus parce ramoso-divaricatis (Boissier), with the stems flexuose, low-growing, moderately divaricately-branched [i.e. widely-divergent].

- radice caespitosa fibrosa perenni, culmis humilibus basi repentibus ramosisque (Boissier), with the root clustered, fibrous, perennial, with the culms low-growing, creeping at the base and much-branched.

- herbae nunc elatae tomentosae, nunc humiliores v. virgatae pilosae (B&H), herbs sometimes high, tomentose, sometimes lower or virgate [i.e. twiggy], pilose.

- var. alpicola habitu rigidiore humiliore, pilis magis stellatis (DeCandolle), more rigid in habit, lower-growing, with the hairs more stellate.

- caulis magis elatior quam in B. capitata, humilior et ramosior quam in B. acephala (DeCandolle), the stem [more] taller than in Brassica capitata, lower growing and more branched than in B. acephala.

- var. costata, caule humiliore subramoso (DeCandolle), with the stem lower-growing, somewhat branched.

- eas species semper distinctas vidi. L. spica colles humiliores, L. lanata montes autem habitat, ad altitudinem 6500' pedum scandens (Boissier), I always consider these species distinct, L. spica inhabits the lower hills, L. lanata however, climbs to an altitude of 6500 feet.

- plantae humillimae foliis ovali-lanceolatis, plants extremely low-growing, with the leaves oval-lanceolate.

- [moss] gregariae humillimae acaules in protothallo viridi positae terrestres (C. Mueller), gregarious, most small in stature [most inconspicuous], stemless, situated on a green protothallus, growing on soil.

- [Grimmia pygmaeus; moss] laxiuscule pulvinata humillima (C. Muell.), somewhat loosely pulvinate, extremely low-growing.

- [liverworts] stratum aeriferum humillimum, costae triplo humilius, canalibus angustis (Steph.), aeriferous layer very low, three times lower than the costa, with narrow canals.

- inflorescentia dioica vel monoica (flos masculus in ramo proprio ad caulis basin sito humillimo) (C. Mueller), the inflorescence dioicous or monoicous (male flower on a special branch, seated very low at the base of the stem.

Chenopodium humile, low-growing.