A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

Seta,-ae (s.f.I) (also saeta,-ae (s.f.I), acc. sg. setam, gen. pl. setarum, abl. pl. setis: seta; capillus,-i (s.m.II), q.v., refers to the softer hairs of animals, such as wool [> L. saeta,-ae (s.f.I) “thick, stiff hair on an animal, a bristle; of stiff, bristly, human hair; of the spiny leaves of coniferous trees; of anything made of coarse hair or bristles, e.g. the bottom or leader of an angling-line; a brush made from bristles (Lewis & Short)]; cf. -chaete (s.f.I), -chaeta (s.f.I): in Gk. comp. bristle, long hair; see 'stalk;'

1. bristle, or bristle-shaped body,” a bristle of any sort; a stiff hair; a slender straight prickle” (Lindley).

2. a thick, stiff hair of an animal; coarse hair, as in the tail of a horse; 3. (fungi) “pointed, thick-walled, sterile cells” (Miller); (fungi) “(in a hymenium), an organ like a cystidium, but dark-colored” (Ainsworth & Bisby); (fungi) “a stiff hair, generally thick-walled and dark-colored” (Ainsworth & Bisby); see cystidium,-ii (s.n.II).;

- Usnea nigra [= Thamnomyces (fungus)], setæ equinæ facie, parum ramosa. The Horse-hair Usnea [Usnea nigra, with the appearance of a horse’s hair, somewhat branched].

4. the sporophore of a moss, the stalk or fruitstalk supporting the capsule,”the stalk which bears the spore-case of plants of the Muscal Alliance” (Lindley); “elongated portion of the sporophyte between the capsule and foot; loosely used for axillary bristles” (Magill 1990); (Hepatacae; liverworts) “the delicate stalk of the sporophyte connecting the foot and the capsule: usu. Extending rapidly by cell elongation when the spores are mature” (Paton); cf. pseudopodium.

5. the arista or awn of grasses when terminal (Jackson).

6. (fungi) “pointed, thick-walled, sterile cells” (Miller); (fungi) “(in a hymenium), an organ like a cystidium, but dark-colored” (Ainsworth & Bisby); (fungi) “a bristle or bristle-shaped body; setae are typically deep yellow or brown in color and dark brown or black when treated with KOH; cf. ‘cystidium’” (S&D);

7. “a peculiar stalked gland in Rubus” (Jackson).

8. “by cyperologists used for the bristle within the utricle of certain species of Carex; it represents the continuation of the floral axis (C. B. Clarke)” (Jackson);

9. “of anything made of coarse hair or bristles, e.g. the bottom or leader of an angling-line” (Lewis & Short);

10. an extension of the diatom valve. “Setae are more elongate than spines and are found in the genera Chaetoceros and Bacteriastrum. They join frustules together to form chains and maintain the buoyancy of colonies in a planktonic environment” (DIA); - piscem tremula salientem ducere saeta, to lead [i.e. guide] the leaping fish with a quivering line.

- Fucus indica, tetes, setam piscatoriam referens, longissimus, an Indian fucus, rounded [i.e. cylindrical], bringing to mind the fisherman’s angling line [i.e. leader], very long.

NOTE: in some graminoid taxa the scales (squama,-ae (s.f.I) may be filiform, hence they may also be called setae;

- [Rhynchosporeae] setae v. squamae hypogynae filiformes planae v. 0 (B&H), the hypogynous setae or scales are filiform, flat or none [i.e. absent].

- crassities setae porcinae, the thickness of a pig's bristle.

- flores in summo vértice erumpunt, sessiles, lana profunde setisque circumvallati, numerosi, sanguinei (Swartz), the flowers breaking forth in the tip-top, sessile, deeply encompassed by a wool and bristles, [the flowers] numerous, blood-red.

- lobis incisis, lobulis seta terminatis (DeCandolle), with the lobes incised, with the lobules terminated by a bristle.

- dentibus seta terminatis, with the teeth terminated with a bristle.

- staminum filamenta setacea (DeCandolle), the filaments of the stamens bristle-like [i.e. thick and stiff].

- sepalis pilosis, caule multifloro setis patentibus hispido, setis pedunculorum adpressis, (DeCandolle), with the sepals pilose, with the stem with many flowers, with the hispid with spreading bristle, with the bristles of the peduncles appressed.

- carpellis setis rigidis hispidis aut rarius glabris (DeCandolle), with the carpels with setae rigid, hispid or more rarely smooth [i.e. hairless].

- herba annua, erecta, ramosa, setis 2-3-fidis hispida (B&H), annual, erect herb, branched, hispid with 2-3-fid bristles.

- planta tota petalis siliquisque exceptis setas longas confertas albas pilis intermixtas gerit (DeCandolle), the whole plant, with the petals and siliquas excepted, bears long, dense, white bristles intermixed with hairs.

- gluma extus setis concoloribus suberectis hispida (S&A), glume externally hispid with bristles of the same color, nearly erect.

- setis glumarum superiorum 1.35-6.5 mm et setis lemmatum strictis differt, it differs by the setae of the upper glumes 1.35-6.5 mm and the setae of the lemmas straight.

- (moss) seta pilis brevibus, crassiusculis, rigidis, horizontalibus scabra vel potius hispida (Hooker), seta with short hairs, somewhat thick, rigid, horizontal, scabrous or more correctly hispid.

- [fungus] Sphaeria strigosa: (a) juxta naturam picta aucta (d) junior barba incolumi (b) adulta setis semifractis(c) verticaliter secta, inanis (S&A), a) illustrated enlarged near to nature d) younger with beard intact (b) mature with the setae half-broken (c) cut vertically, empty.

- [fungus] barba satis densa e setis constat rigentibus longis (S&A), the beard quite dense composed of stiff setae.

Anthera,-ae (s.f.I), abl. sg. anthera: the anther, “used by Linnaeus for the seta and capsule of Mosses, as in Bryum” (Jackson).

Asteroseta,-ae (s.f.I) = asterophysis, gen. sg. asterophysis, abl. sg. asterophyse, nom. & acc. pl. asterophyses, gen. pl. asterophysium, dat. & abl. pl. asterophysibus (fungi) “ a seta with radiating branches” (Ainsworth & Bisby).

(As chaeta,-ae (s.f.I) “a bristle. The slender stalk of the spore-case of Mosses. Same as seta” (Lindley); see chaete (s.f.I).

Podetium,-ii (s.n.II), abl.sg. podetio; [obsol. podetum,-i (s.n.II), abl.sg. podeto sec. Lindley]: the stalk that bears the spore-cases [i.e. thecae] of Urn-mosses, and the receptacle of such plants as Marchantia” (Lindley); an organ or body resembling a stalk (as the seta of a moss)’ (WIII).

setosus: (adj.A): setose, bristly, beset with scattered ascending stiff hairs; “covered with stiff hairs or setae” (Lindley); “having setae usually ending in glands (Babignton)” (Jackson);

NOTE: “Perisporium. (obsol.) The hypogenous setae of Sedges. Also the skin of a spore” (Lindley).

NOTE: in the older bryophyte literature, such as by Mitten (1869), the peduncle (pedunculus,-i (s.m.II) = the ‘fruit-stalk,’ or seta; also in liverworts that develop capsules, it is the ‘peduncle’ or seta, the stalk that supports the capsule’

- theca in pedunculo foliis perichaetialibus duplo longiore (Mitten), theca on a seta two times longer than the perichaetial leaves.

- theca in pedunculo breviusculo (Mitten), theca on a rather short peduncle (seta).

- theca in pedunculo aurantiaco brevi (Mitten), theca on an orange, short peduncle (seta).

- pedunculus 3-4 lineas [ca. 6.3 - 8.4 mm] longus, 4-5 linearis, rufus (Mitten), peduncle [ca. 6.3 - 8.4 mm] long, 4-5, linear, reddish.

- theca in pedunculo gracili (Mitten), theca on a slender seta.

NOTE: pedicellus,-i (s.m.II), abl. sg. pedicello, ‘pedicel’ is also often used for the seta of a moss capsule;

- (moss) capsula perbrevi crassiuscula in pedicello brevi (Mueller), the capsule very short, comswhat thick, on a short pedicel [i.e. seta].

- (moss) Fructus terminalis, solitarius, rarius geminus, alte pedicellatus. Pedicellus caule duplo terve longior, e basi geniculata oblique erectus, parum flexuosus, siccitate tortilis, tenuis, subcapillaris.apice in capsulam dilatatus, laevis, rubro-purpureus (DozyMoek), fruit terminal, solitary, rarely paired, tall-pedicellate. The Pedicel [i.e. seta] two or three times longer than the stem, geniculate from the base, obliquely erect, somewhat flexuose, when dry, twisted, thin, nearly hairlike, at the apex dilated into a capsule, smooth, red-purple.

- capsula erecta, cylindrica vel ovali-cylindrica, basi subinaequali in pedicellum attenuata, exsiccando plicata (DozyMoek), capsule erect, cylindric or oval-cylindric, somewhat asymmetrical at the base, narrowed into the pedicel [i.e. seta], after drying out, plicate.

NOTE: pedicel often abbreviated as ped.; [note ped. is also a foot (in length), see ‘ped.;’

- (moss) theca in ped. apice arcuato flavido inclinata v. nutans orbicularis (Mueller), theca on a pedicel [ped. = pedicello] arcuate at the apex, yellowish, [the theca] inclined or nodding, orbicular [i.e. globose].

Equisetum,-i L. (s.n.II) Horsetail [ > L. equus, horse, and seta, bristle].

Setaria,-ae (s.f.I), in reference to the “persistent awn-like branches which spring from the rachis below the articulation of the spikelets” (Fernald 1950).