A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

Consistentia,-ae (s.f.I), abl. sg. consistentia: texture, consistence = consistency = “the way in which a substance, typically a liquid, holds together; thickness or viscosity” (“Dictionary:” Oxford Languages); firmness of matter - the property of holding together and retaining its shape; (fungi) “the firmness, density, or solidity of the tissues which compose the parts of a fruit body, etc.” (S&D); cf. textura,-ae (s.f.I).

Consistency (Eng.noun): “archaic: the condition (as of a material) of standing together or remaaining fixed in union: firmness; persistence of firmness: persistency; a degree of firmness, density ... or resistance to moement or separation of constituent particles ...” (after WIII).

- [Mimosa tortuosa] ínter cutem externam Leguminis, membranamque internam semina separantem, liquor, syrupi consistentia & colore, continetur, graveolens, amarus, adstringens (Swartz), between the outer skin of the legume, and the inner membrane separating the seeds, is kept a liquor [i.e. a liquid], with the consistency and color of a syrup [i.e. liquid + sugar], strong-smelling, bitter, astringent.

- Baccas in fictili aut aheno per se ad mediocrem consistentiam coquunt, nullo addito liquore; cum enim succi pleni sint & molles, alieno humore irrigari non expetunt (Ray), they cook the berries in an earthern or a brass [or copper, sc. vessel], as such, to a medium consistency [i.e. thickness], with no liquid added; for when the juice many be full [i.e. reduced] and soft, they do not want [it] to be watered with a moisture not belonging to it.

- [Circaea canadensis] perianthium consistentia calycina, s. corolla longe crassius, rudiusque, nec corollae concolor (Linn. Sp.Pl.) the perianthium with the texture of the calyx, or far thicker than the corolla, more unfinished [i.e. rudimentary?], not the same color as the corolla.

- [Andromeda] frutex foliis ovali-lanceolatis, coriaceis, myricae consistentia, obtusis, margine recurvis (Linn. Sp.Pl.) a shrub with leaves oval-lanceolate, leathery, with the consistency [i.e. texture] of Myrica, obtuse, with a recurved margin.

- [Hydrocotyle asiatica] differt a praecedente [i.e. H. americana] marginis denticulis, s. crenis aequalibus, consistentia foliorum duplo crassiore & fere incana; petiolis pluribus ad genicula caulis cum in praecedente folia solitaria (Linn.Sp.Pl.), it differs from the preceeding by the small teeth of the margin, or [s. = seu] by the crenations uniform, with the consistency of the leaves twice as thick and almost ash-gray; with many petioles, the leaves solitary at the nodes of the stem as in the preceeding.

“in regard to its consistence, the seed [semen,-inis (s.n.III)] is, 1. exsuccum, juiceless : 2. duriusculum, hardish : 3. amygdalino-carnosum, almond-fleshy; a seed retaining the impression of the nail : 4. fungosum, s. suberosum, fungous, or cork-like; a seed which can be opened by scratching: 5. coriaceum, coriaceous ; which can be cut with a knife: 6. crustaceum, crustaceous ; which can be broken by the fingers: 7. nucamenlaceum, s. osseum, nucameataceous or bony, which can hardly be broken in pieces between the teeth; 8. baccatum, berried. (Barton). [note: s. = abbr. of ‘seu,’ ‘or.’]

“ In regard to its consistence, the nut [nux, gen. sg. nucis (s.f.III)] is, 1. sicca, dry: 2. firma, firm : 3. dura, hard : 4. coriacea, coriaceous ; as in Chesnut, and others : 5. crustacea, crustaceous ; as in many of the Rough-leaved plants: 6. cavernoso coriacea, cavernose -coriaceous ; as in Cashew (Anacardium), and in Acajuba: 7. ossea, bony; as in Walnut, Hazel, &c. : 8. lapidea, stony ; as in Myosotis, and others" (Barton).

Barton lists the consistence of the testa (the shell covering the seed) using the same words.

“Both in respect to its consistence and colour, the albumen, in many seeds, greatly resembles the white of a boiled egg.” (Barton).

“This parenchyma alone forms nearly the whole mass of the cotyledons, and is commonly of an herbaceous, almond, or somewhat coriaceous consistence” (Barton).