A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

apus, gen.sg. apodis, abl.sg. apode: often used as a species epithet, but actually (grammatically) a noun in apposition (s.m.III): ‘lacking a foot, stalk or base, i.e. footless, sessile;’ “footless, sessile, without a stalk” (Stearn 1996) = apodus,-a,-um (adj.A), q.v. [> Gk. pous (s.m.III), genitive sg. podos, ‘a foot’]; see -pus (s.m.III), gen. sg. –podis (s.m.III); see sessile (Eng.adj.);


       singular          plural    apus, gen.sg. apodis, ‘footless’
Nom.    apus            apodes         
Gen.    apodis          apodum         
Dat.    apodi           apodibus       
Acc.    apodem          apodes         
Abl.    apode           apodibus       
      (endings following Stearn 1983 p. 99)

- Bambusa apus, gen.sg. Bambusae apodis, abl.sg. Bambusa apode.

- Muscus trichoides, capitulo apodi [dat.sg.], foliis latioribus (Dill.) Muscus trichoides, with a stalkless capitulum, with the leaves wider.

- Muscus trichoides, capitulis apodibus, foliis angustioribus (Dill.), Muscus trichoides, with the capitula stalkless, with wider leaves.

- Muscus trichoides, capitulis apodibus, per longitudinem caulium adnascentibus (Dill.), with the capitula stalkless, arising along the length of the stems.

- [Fontinalis squamosa] secundum ramorum longitudinem capsulae, nascuntur pro plantae ratione satis magnae, ovatae, apodes (Dill.), the capsules arise, following [i.e. parallel to] the length of the branches, quite large in relation to the plant, ovate, lacking stalks.

- Lycopodium elatius abietiforme, julo singulari apode (Dill.), the taller fir-tree-shaped Lycopodium, with a single, stalkless ament.

- Lycopodioides denticulatum pulchrum repens, spicis apodibus [“The creeping dented Lycopodioides, with footless Spikes]” (Dill.), with the spikes [i.e. juli] lacking stalks.

- capsulis apodibus [vel] pediculo tenera & pellucido vaginato insidentibus (Dill.), with the capsules stalkless or seated on a delicate and pellucid vaginate [i.e. sheathed] pedicel.

- Ea nuda erant, glabra, in quibus operculum detegere non potui, Sphagno tamen, quod ea nuda essent & apoda, accensenda videtur hæc planta (Dill.), these [capitula] were naked, glabrous, the operculum on which I was unable to remove, yet because these wmight be naked and stalkless [i.e. sessile], this plant seemed to ought to come near to Sphagnum.

Androsace apus; Ardisia apus; Arundarbor apus; Bambusa apus; Fimbristylis apus; Gigantochloa apus; Myosurus minimus var. apus; Oxytenanthera apus; Piper apus; Polymnia apus; Quercus reticulata fo. apus; Saussurea apus; Scirpus apus; Selaginella apus.

NOTE: Selaginella apoda (L.) Spring is sometimes written S. apus. The Linnaean basionym is Lycopodium apodum, hence demonstrating that the epithet is the adjective (-podus,-a,-um (adj.A), q.v.), not the noun in apposition (apus,-podis (s.m.III).