A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

Abortion, a failure of a structure or organ to develop, a miscarriage; imperfect or non-development of an organ; “the non-formation of a part which theoretically should be present; also an incomplete formation” (Lindley): abortio,-onis (s.f.III), abl. sg. abortione; abortus,-us (s.m.IV), acc. sg. abortum, dat. sg. abortui, abl. sg. abortu; nom. & acc. pl. abortus, gen. pl. abortuum, dat. & abl. pl. abortibus;

- flores saepe abortu unisexuales, flowers often by abortion unisexual.

- sepala 2-5, rarius 6; petala totidem v. plura v. abortu pauciora, sepals 2-5, more rarely 6; petals just as many or more or fewer by abortion.

- flores aut hermaphroditi aut sexus unius abortu monoici dioicive (DeCandolle), the flowers either hermaphrodite or by the abortion of one sex, monoicous or dioicous.

- siliqua obcuneata v. sublyrata, compressa, suberosa, spurie 3-locularis, abortione 1-sperma (B&H); silique obcuneate or rather lyrate, compressed, corky, spuriously 3-locular, by abortion 1-seeded.

- Drupa 1-pyrena, pyrena saepius ossea tuberculata 3-5- loculari v. abortu 1-loculari, loculis 1-spermis (B&H), drupe 1-pyrenous, with the pyrene more often boney, tuberculate, 3-5-locular or by abortion 1-locular, with the locules 1-seeded.

- pistilla ∞ toro inserta, abortu aut coalitione rarius solitaria (DeCandolle), pistils indeterminate [i.e. numerous], inserted on the torus, more rarely solitary by abortion or coalescence.

- [Ranunculaceae] Petala sepalorum numero aequalia dupla triplave, libera, aestivatione imbricata, rarius abortu nulla, nunc ex filamentis dilatatis facta et tunc plana, nunc ex antheris transformatis orta cucullata (DeCandolle), the petals in number equal to the number of the sepals or double or triple, free, imbricate in aestivation, more rarely none by abortion, sometimes made from dilated filaments and then flat, sometimes arisen from the transformed anthers, cucullate.

Abortiporus Murrill.