Acmella oleracea
ak-MEL-lah oh-ler-AY-see-uh
Species (binomial)
the little-pointed herb-of-the-garden (the toothache plant, grown as a leafy vegetable)
Literally: little point; of the vegetables
Acmella · genus name
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| acm- | a point; the highest point | Greek (acm, =a) | stem acm-, nominative singular acma; here used as the first element of a compound |
| -ella | small | Latin (=ell, =a, =um, =us) | Latin diminutive suffix, feminine; gives the genus name a feminine gender |
oleracea · specific epithet (adjective, feminine, agreeing with Acmella)
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| oler- | greens, vegetables | Latin (oler, -i) | from Latin holus/olus 'vegetable'; stem oler- |
| -acea | of, pertaining to; of the nature of | Latin (-aceus, =acea, =aceum) | Latin adjectival suffix -aceus/-acea/-aceum; feminine form -acea agrees with Acmella |
Acmella is a feminine genus name formed from Greek acm- ('point') with the Latin diminutive suffix -ella, meaning 'little point' (referring to the pointed tips of the plant's disc florets). The epithet oleracea is a Latin adjective in the feminine nominative singular, ending -acea from -aceus ('of the nature of'), modifying the feminine genus name Acmella. Together: 'the little-pointed vegetable-herb.'
Pronunciation
- ak-MEL-lah Penult rule 5: penult vowel 'e' is short but followed by two consonants (ll), so the penult is stressed.
- oh-ler-AY-see-uh Antepenult stressed: the penult 'ce' has a short vowel not followed by two consonants, so stress moves to the antepenult 'a', which is long because it precedes a single consonant (c) followed by two vowels whose first is 'e' (the a-e-a sequence).
Other readings
Acmella could theoretically be read as mel- (Greek or Latin 'honey') + -ella, yielding 'little honey-thing,' but the Greek acm- ('point') is the intended reading, reflecting the sharp tips of the floral parts and matching the original author's derivation.
The genus Acmella was described by Richard (1807). The name reflects the pointed achenes or disc-floret tips characteristic of the genus. The epithet oleracea is very common in botany (e.g. Brassica oleracea, Portulaca oleracea) and simply means the plant is used as a pot-herb or garden vegetable. The Latin adjectival suffix -aceus/-acea is confirmed in the dictionary; the match for Greek ace- ('heal, remedy') at the same position in the word is not relevant here.