A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

Nota,-ae (s.f.I), abl.sg. nota; cf. character; cf. signum,-i (s.n.II); insigne,-is (s.n.III), indicium,-ii (s.n.II); see trace; see ‘mark;’

1. that by which a thing is known, distinguishing mark, distinctive feature, sign, distinction (Lewis & Short);

2. an epistle, a letter composition; memoranda, notes;

3. a mark, sign, token; a mark, mole, spot, syn. naevus, macula;

4. a characteristic quality, character; feature.

For ‘note,’ as in ‘remark, comment, observation,’ see ‘annotation;’

- notae litterarum, 'marks or characters in writing, letters' (Lewis & Short).

- (moss) forsan Ephemerum tenerum sed species distinctissima et ab E. serrato, notis supra expositis, totocaelo differt (Austin), perhaps Ephemerum tenerum, but the species is most highly distinct and from E. serrato, by the characters revealed above, it is totally different.

- notae speciei illis generis congruentes, features of the species agreeing with those of the genus.

- multis notis Simarubaceis convenit sed recedit staminibus oo, ovulo et arillo. (B&H), it agrees with the Simarubaceae in many features but it departs by the [numerous] stamens, the ovule and the aril.

- nota characteristica (adj.A): diagnostic or essential character.

- nota censoria, a mark of disgrace.

- species unica Javanica, a Tetracera parum differre videtur carpello unico et hirsutie totius piantae quae notae vix ad genus constituendum sufficere videntur (B&H), a single Java species from Tetracera seems to differ somewhat by the single carpel and by the rough hair covering of the whote plant, which features seem scarcely to suffice to constitute a genus.

- Sarcochilus olivaceus et Sarc. unguiculatus jam eadem nota recedunt, anterior quoque sepalis obtusis et labelli lobis lateralibus acutis (F. Mueller). Sarcochilus olivaceus and S. unguiculatus, moreover, depart [i.e. are separate] by the same characteristic, the former also by the obtuse sepals and by the acute lateral lobes of the labellum.

- character diagnosticus speciei naturalis, a praecipuis & peculiaribus notis, quas proles & individua neutra ejusdem speciei proferunt, assumi debet,ut nobis indicavit natura (Necker), the distinguishing character of a natural species, from the specific and singular distinguishing marks which neither the offspring nor the individuals of the same species reproduces, ought to be assumed, as indicated by us, to be as in nature.

- [moss] a B. rurali notis cursive impressis facile discernibilis, easily discernable from Barbula ruralis by the characters cursively impressed (printed) [from a description where key features were printed in italics].

- [moss] ab A. heteromalla proxima notis cursive impressis longe distat (C. Mueller), from the nearest to it A. heteromalla far distant by the characters cursively impressed (printed).

- [moss] ab antecedente notis illustratis distinctissimum sed rarius occurrens. (C. Mueller), from the preceding very distinct by the features illustrated [i.e. made clear] but more rarely occurring.

- nescimus, quibus notis a Bruchia certe distingui possit (C. Mueller), we [i.e. ‘I’] do not know by what characteristics it might be distinguished with certainty from Bruchia.

- Astomo nervosa simillima, sed notis multis diversa (C. Mueller), very similar to Astomum nervosum, but is different by many characters.

- [moss] Puncta vegetationis retis folii propria tribus discrimina sequentia constituunt, ut Dicranaceae a Leptotrichaceis cellulis alaribus distinguuntur. Pari modo ductus intercellulares Sphagnorum et Leucobryorum notae novae excellentes sunt (C. Mueller), the special growing points of the areolation of the leaf constitute the following distinctions of the tribe, as the Dicranaceae are distinguished from the Leptotrichaceae by the alar cells. In the same way, the intercellular ducts of the Sphagna and Leucobrya are excellent new distinguishing characters.

Nota characteristica (adj.A): diagnostic character, essential character.

Nota essentialis = character,-eris (s.m.III) essentialis (adj.B), abl. sg. charactere essentiali: “the distinguishing note [i.e. feature] by which a form differs from its allies = diagnostic character” (Jackson); see character.

Notula,-ae (s.f.I), abl.sg. notula: a little mark, a small written note or article [> L. nota, ‘note’ + (dim.) -ulus,-a,-um (adj.A)].

NOTE: see notus,-a,-um (part.A), ‘known’ [> L. nosco, novi, notum, 3, to know a thing];

- species ad 70 adhue notae, in Asia tropica v. orientali, in America boreali (B&H), species to 70 known at this time in tropical or eastern Asia, in North America.

- Odontocarya, e Brasilia, et Antitaxis, e Malacca, quarum stirpes masculae solae notae sunt, nullo certo charactere ab Euphorbiaceis distinguuntur (B&H), Odontocarya, from Brasil, and Antitaxis, from Malacca, the male plants of which only are known, are distinguished by no definite character.