A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

serpens,-entis (part.B): creeping, crawling; sinuously creeping, creeping in a winding way [> L. serpo,-psi,-ptum, 3 to creep, crawl, also, of things, to move slowly or imperceptibly, to creep along, proceed gradually, to spread]; cf. Gk. herpein, to creep; see creeping, trailing;

NOTE: this word was relatively seldom used in the sense of ‘creeping’ in the botanical literature of the late 16th and throughout the 17th centuries consulted. The predominant idea is one of flexuosity, bending back and forth in a line. In the sense of ‘creeping,’ as of a prostrate plant, the creeping tends to wind to and fro, rather than in a straight line.

- [moss] formis compactis A. serpentis habitu simile, with compact shapes, similar to the habit of Amblystegium serpens.

serpit, 3d pers. sg. pres. act. indic. [he/she] it creeps, spreads;

- [Trichia Serpula; Filiformes; fungi] ad unciam et ultra lumbrici ad instar flexuosa serpit (S&A), up to an inch and beyond, it spreads flexuose like a worm [lumbricus,-i (s.m.II), abl. sg. lumbrico: earth-worm].

- Rubus caule spinoso, serpente; foliis quinatis vel ternatis, subtus subtomentosis, bacca laevi, Rubus with the stem spinose, creeping, with the leaves in fives or threes, somewhat tomentose below, with the berries smooth.

- [of the ovules] vasorum fasciculis uniformibus binis ad cujusvis loculi angulum externum serpentibus, with fascicles of vessels uniform [i.e. of the same shape] paired, at the outer angle of any locule, creeping [i.e. in a flexuose line].

- [Physarum reticulatum; fungi] P.acaule serpens elongatum flexuosum aurantium, peridiis utplurimum ramosis, ramis reticulatim anastomosantibus (S&A), [a Physarum] stemless, creeping, elongate, flexuose, orange, with the peridia [nearly always] branched, with the branches reticulately anastomosing.

- vires autem habet acres et sudorem suscitantes. Unde et tussientibus et suspiriosis et hydropicis et coxiosis prodest et ad serpentum morsum facit (Galen in Everett), it has sharp properties and induces sweat [i.e. perspiration]. For this reason it is beneficial both for those who are coughing and with labored breathing, and dropsical [i.e. suffering from dropsy] and with hip ailments, and also it is effective in dealing with the bite of serpents.

proserpens,-entis (part.B): [> L. proserpo,-ere “to creep forwards or forth, to creep or crawl along (Lewis * Short(of plants) to come forth imperceptibly; to move on imperceptibly, to glide or steal along.

- [Hookeria divaricata; moss] caulis filiformis, tener, flexuose, proserpens (Dozy Moek), stem threadlike, delicate, flexuose, creeping forwards.

Arenaria serpens; Viola serpens; Oncidium serpens (Orchidaceae).

[moss] Macromitrium (Orthotrichum) serpens; Amblystegium serpens, a pleurocarpous moss: “the name refers to a creeping habit of growth” (C&A). [fungi] Merulius serpens. [fern] Polypodium serpens, Selaginella serpens; Lycopodium serpens.