A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

Lanugo,-inis (s.f.III), abl.sg. lanugine, in classical Latin, the down of plants, on the chin, fuzz; Lindley makes this synonymous with lana,-ae (s.f.I), q.v., ‘wool;’ cf. Gk. lachnos (s.m.II) = lachnE (s.f.I): soft hair, down, = Lat. lanugo, of a young man’s beard; of thin hair on the head; of the nap or pile on cloth; of sheep’s wool” (Liddell & Scott)]; see lachn-, lachno-, in Gk. comp.;

- planta in hortis lanugine plerumque deltituta (Swartz), the plant in gardens usually lacks the down.

- semina lanugine densa obvoluta (DeCandolle), the seeds enveloped with the dense downiness.

- stipite squamarum extimarum brevi parcissime lanuginoso, interiorum glanduloso-asperulo lanugine destituto (F. Mueller), with the stalk of the outermost scales short, very sparingly downy, the interior one glandulous-asperulous, with the down absent.

- foliis subtus lanugine alba tenui tomentosis (F. Mueller), with the leaves below tomentose with a white, thin down.

- semina lanugine alba facile separabili obducta (F. Mueller), the seeds covered with a white, easily separable down.

- lanugine patentissima alba dense tomentoso (F. Mueller), densly tomentose with a very wide-spreading white down.

- lanugo seminum alba (F. Mueller), the down of the seeds white.

- Dimetopia eriocarpa, quae lanugine alba densissima fructuum insignis est, per Australiam occidentalem passim provenit (F. Mueller), Dimetopia eriocarpa , which is remarkable by the very dense white down of the fruits, appears everywhere throughout western Australia.

- folia undique lanugine flava v. canescente tomentosa (F. Mueller), the leaves all over with a yellow whitish-gray down.

- [Byssus] colore candido, substantia adeo tenera, ut solo halitu difflari queat, ex lanugine nempe constans subtilissima, filis tenuissimis surrectis, non ramodis, quoquoversus expansis (Dill.), with a (shining) white color, the substance quite delicate, so that it might be blown away with a single breath, indeed, composed of the finest down, with the extremely thin filaments nearly straight, not branched, spread out in every direction.

NOTE: “Lanugo is a downy hairiness in herbs and trees which causes the leaves and young stems to grow gray” (FUCHS in Choate).