Taxonomic history
1753: Linnaeus described this species as Pteris caudata in Species Plantarum, 1st ed., p. 1075 of Ray Society 1957 facsimile.
Today: The current name for this species is Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn ssp. caudatum (L.) Sadeb.
original Latin diagnosis
Pteris fronde supradecomposita, pinnis linearibus infimis basi pinnato-dentatis, terminalibus longissimis.
English translation
Pteris with a frond divided many times; with pinnae linear, with the lowest at the base pinnate-dentate, the terminal [pinnae] very long.
| Pteris | Pteris |
| with a frond | fronde - ablative singular of third declension feminine noun frons, frondis |
| divided many times; | supradecomposita - ablative singular feminine of perfect passive participle of third conjugation verb supradecompono, supradecomponere, supradecomposui, supradecompositum; modifies fronde |
| with pinnae | pinnis - ablative plural of first declension feminine noun pinna, -ae |
| linear, | linearibus - ablative plural feminine of group B adjective linearis, -is, -e; modifies pinnis |
| with the lowest | infimis - ablative plural feminine of group A adjective infimus, -a, -um; agrees with pinnis |
| at the base | basi - ablative singular of third declension feminine noun basis, basis |
| pinnate-dentate, | pinnato-dentatis = pinnato- (combining form of group A adjective pinnatus, -a, -um) + dentatis (ablative plural feminine of group A adjective dentatus, -a, -um); modifies infimis |
| [and] | [added for smoother reading] |
| with the terminal [pinnae] | terminalibus - ablative plural feminine of group B adjective terminalis, -is, -e; agrees with pinnis |
| very long. | longissimis - ablative plural feminine of superlative degree of group A adjective longus, -a, -um; modifies terminalibus |