Sativa, sativus, and sativum are Latin botanical adjectives meaning ''
cultivated''. It is often associated botanically with plants that promote good health and used to designate certain seed-grown domestic crops.
Usage
''Sativa'' (ending in -a) is the feminine form of the adjective, but masculine (-us) and neuter (-um) endings are also used to agree with the gender of the nouns they modify; for example, the masculine ''
Crocus sativus'' and neuter ''
Pisum sativum''.
List of plant names containing sativum
Examples of crops incorporating this word and its variations into their Latin name include:
* ''
Allium sativum
Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion, and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. Garlic is native to ...
'', garlic.
* ''
Avena sativa'', the common oat.
* ''
Cannabis sativa
''Cannabis sativa'' is an annual Herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plant. The species was first classified by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The specific epithet ''Sativum, sativa'' means 'cultivated'. Indigenous to East Asia, Eastern Asia, the pla ...
'', one of three forms of
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
.
[The major species of ''Cannabis'' are ''sativa'', ''indica'', and ''ruderalis''. {{Cite magazine , last=Resin , first=Harry , date=9 May 2014 , title=5 Differences Between Sativa and Indica , url=http://www.hightimes.com/read/5-differences-between-sativa-and-indica , magazine= High Times , access-date=15 July 2015 , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716182947/http://www.hightimes.com/read/5-differences-between-sativa-and-indica , archivedate = 16 July 2015]
* ''
Castanea sativa'', sweet chestnut.
* ''
Coriandrum sativum'', coriander, also known as cilantro, an
annual herb.
* ''
Crocus sativus'', the
saffron crocus
''Crocus'' (; plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (iris family) comprising about 100 species of perennial plant, perennials growing from corms. They are low growing plants, whose flower stem ...
.
* ''
Cucumis sativus'', the cucumber.
* ''
Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'', the
carrot, a plant species.
* ''
Eruca sativa
Rocket, eruca, or arugula (''Eruca sativa'') is an edible annual plant in the family Brassicaceae used as a leaf vegetable for its fresh, tart, bitter, and peppery flavor. Its other common names include salad rocket and garden rocketFlora of NW ...
'', the rocket or arugula, a
leaf vegetable.
* ''
Hordeum sativum'', barley.
* ''
Lactuca sativa'', lettuce.
* ''
Lepidium sativum'', garden cress.
* ''
Madia sativa'', Chilean tarweed.
* ''
Medicago sativa'', alfalfa.
* ''
Nigella sativa'', a
flower
Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
whose edible
seeds are sometimes known as "black
cumin" or "black
caraway".
* ''
Oryza sativa'',
rice
Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
.
* ''
Pastinaca sativa.,'' parsnip, a
root vegetable closely related to the
carrot and
parsley; all belong to the family
Apiaceae.
* ''
Pisum sativum'', pea plant.
* ''
Ribes sativum'', the whitecurrant.
* ''
Vicia sativa'', common vetch.
See also
*
References
Latin biological phrases
Horticulture