A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

l. [the letter ‘ell’]: an abbrev. for ‘vel; ‘or’ “(l for vel, like h for nihil, derives from the procedure of medieval scribes who did not necessarily use an initial letter when abbreviating)” (Stearn); often used by Swartz: see ‘vel;’

NOTE: when digitally searching a manuscript for ‘l.’ often the program will not ‘see’ it, or will register it as a 1., i.e. [numeral] ‘one.’

- fructus luteus, albus 1. caeruleus, fruit yellow, white or [l. = vel] blue.

- anthera magna, profunde bipartita 1. integra (Swartz), the anther large, deeply two-parted or entire.

. - folia, oblonga 1. obovatá, integra, glabra, enervia (Swartz), the leaves oblong or [= vel) obovate, entire, glabrous, lacking nerves.

- flores umbellati, coccíneo - fulvi, 1. [= ‘vel’] nivei (Swartz), flowers umbellate, scarlet-fulvous or snow-white.

- caulis herbaceus, pedalis, simplex l. ramosus; erectus (Swartz), the stem herbaceous, a foot tall, simple [i.e. unbranched] or branched; erect.

- sem. plura 1. solitaria (Swartz), seeds [semina] many l. [= vel] or solitary.

- arbuscula l. frutex (Swartz), a small tree l. [= vel] or shrub.

l. ... l. ...: ‘vel ... vel...’ = either ... or ...;

- numerus staminum saepe variat, 1. paucior (6-10.) l. multiplex (20-30.) (Swartz), the number of stamens often varies, either [l. = vel] fewer (6-10) or [l. = vel] multiplied (20-30).

- racemi axillares, aliis l. ramulis oppositi, laxi simplices 1. subdivisi (Swartz), racemes axillary (Swartz), some either [l. = vel] with branchlets opposite, lax, unbranched or [l. = vel] subdivided.

L. (capital letter), also Lib.: abbrev. = “L. Liber vel Libro” (Dill.).

Liber, q.v., gen.sg. libri, abl.sg. libro, ‘book.’

NOTE: also Lib.: abbrev. = Liber, e.g. Lib. II, = book II.

NOTE: lower case ‘l.,’ q.v. usually refers to vel, ‘or.’

- [Synonym] Bryon Theophrasti Caes. L.16. C. 26. c. descr. br. (Dill.) = Liber [book] 16. Caput [chapter] 26. cum [with] descriptione [description] brevi [short] [with a short description].

[Synonym] Bryon folio herbido amplo, Lactucis simili Theophr. L. 4. C. 7. (Dill.) Bryon [i.e. Bryum] with a large [grass-like; grass-green] leaf, similar to Lactua [plants], Theophrastus Book 4, Chapter 7.